Irked by an age-long marginalization of the Ndokwa ethic nationality in Delta State by the Federal Government, the President General, Ndokwa National Union, Pharmacist Paul Enebeli, has said his people will demand restitution from the Federal Government.
Enebeli, a delegate representing the South-South minority in the ongoing National Conference, who spoke with The Eagle Online said for decades, the Ndokwa people have nothing to show for the wealth the Federal Government has been tapping from their land.
Maintaining that seeking restitution would be one of the ways forward for his people and the unity of the country, he said the deliberate neglect of his people has taken a dangerous dimension on them.
He said despite the fact that the area produces more than 20 per cent of the oil revenue of the Federal Government and generates 480 megawatts of electricity to the national grid, yet people of the area have no electricity.
He said the area remains the largest gas deposit in West Africa, yet it has no access roads to its communities, it drinks contaminated water and survives amidst devastated farmlands.
Enebeli lamented: “Despite all that the Ndokwa gives to the Federal Government, we do not have federal presence in our area.
“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.
“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.
“As a matter of fact, we should ask for restitution because government has taken so much from us and put back little or nothing.”
Enebeli also stated that his people have been shortchanged with the creation of local government areas, disclosing: “In those days, when we had provinces, the present Ndokwaland used to be part of the Aboh Division.
“Now, those Divisions like Aboh Division, have six local government areas with two federal constituencies.
But, today, the Aboh Division has three local government areas with one federal constituency and the implication is that in terms of our political economy, in terms of our money, in terms of inputs and what have you, we are losing because if you have one constituency, you have one person representing you in the House of Representatives.
“If you have two federal constituencies, you will have two persons representing you and at the state level, six members of the House of Assembly instead of three and so on and so forth.”
Enebeli disclosed that efforts are on to address the marginalization of Ndokwa people and called on all Deltans to be their brother’s keepers and join the Ndokwas in correcting the marginalization of its people.
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