Yenagoa—The Ijaw People Assembly (IPA) has described the proposed bill for the amendment of Section 162(2) of the 1999 Constitution by 59 members of the House of Representatives as an attempt to strangulate and subjugate the Ijaw nation in particular and the other Niger Delta nationalities.
In a statement sent to mangrovepen.ng which was signed by Elder Ben Nanaghan, President, Dortimi Kester Tawari, Secretary, the group noted that the proposed amendment is aimed at removing the 13% derivation principle for the Niger Delta.
The statement reads in part:
“We echo once again our calls for a restructured Nigeria with stronger regions or states as practised in a true federal system which guarantees resource ownership, control, management and freedom to appropriate a declared percentage of derived revenue to the central government or an arrangement of sovereign nations as the extreme option.
“A restructured Nigeria or federation of sovereign nations will promote a productive economy and end the current monthly sharing (rentier) economy under some spurious formula which has encouraged laziness and unviability of states from which the said 59 members all hail from.
“The proposed amendment no matter the coloration is a subterfuge targeted at deleting the Principle of Derivation which as of today stipulates 13% of the revenue accruing to the Federation Account from any natural resources.
“The Niger Delta States, therefore, are the real targets of this inglorious and obnoxious attempt to amend the particular Subsection of the 1999 CFRN.
“The Ijaw nation being a host nation to oil and gas resources and assets, the IPA views this proposal as another form of internal colonization, an attempt to strangulate and subjugate the Ijaw nation in particular and the other Niger Delta nationalities.
“It needs to be mentioned that it is an invitation to chaos and eventual collapse of the Nigerian economy. The ljaw People Assembly vehemently oppose a system that will drag the ljaw Nation and the other nationalities in the Niger Delta into undeserved subjugation and retrogression.
“The ljaw People Assembly would rather demand an increased derivative of 50% for the Niger Delta States because when the Wazobia tripod was enjoying 100% derivatives for their hides and skins, tin, coal, cocoa, rubber etc, the Niger Delta was left behind as an undeveloped slavish territory.
“We do not oppose the legitimate exercise of rights of groups in a democratic setting if done within the limits of justice, equity and fairness nevertheless we let the 59 Honourable Members and their godfathers know that we read clearly the handwriting and understand the purport of the said amendment and would not fold our arms and hands in the height of any oppressive machination by anyone at this point of our history.
“Take notice therefore that we shall mobilize accordingly all resources to support the actions of the INC and undertake pushbacks we consider appropriate should the National Assembly (NASS) go ahead with this daylight naked dance in the market square.”
