By Felix Igbekoyi
Correspondent, Asaba
The President General, Ndokwa National Union (NNU), Paul Enebeli, has vowed that his people will demand restitution from the Federal Government over marginalisation of the area.
Enebeli, who is a delegate representing the South-South in the ongoing National Conference, in an interview, said the Ndokwa people are so marginalised with nothing to show for the wealth the Federal Government is tapping from their soil, stating that seeking restitution will be one of the ways forward for his people.
According to him, the deliberate neglect of the people by the Federal Government is having a dangerous effect on them, noting that the area produces more than 20 per cent of oil revenue of the and is home to the largest gas deposit in West Africa, generates 480 megawatts of electricity to the national grid, expressing dismay that the people of the area have no electricity, no access roads to their communities, contaminated water and devastated farmlands as benefits for what they are contributing to the nation.
“Despite all that Ndokwa gives to the Federal Government, we do not have federal presence in our area,” Enebeli said, stating, “in the three Ndokwa local government areas – Ndokwa West, Ndokwa East and Ukwuani, the only thing that we have as Federal Government presence is a dilapidated prison yard, which is in Kwale and a few police stations located here and there; that is apart from the fact that we give about 20 per cent of the energy use of the country and we don’t have electricity in our area.”
He added, “we have so many marginal fields in Ndokwa, even in the area of appointment. Since I was born, I have never seen an Ndokwa-born minister, an ambassador; I have never seen a judge of whether the Supreme Court or whatever court and so on and so forth. That is why when we talk about conference, the minorities like us want to use the opportunity to tell Nigeria that it is unfair to us,” he stated.
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