Rivers Summit: South-South Leaders Demand Restructuring

Leaders of the South-South geopolitical zone have asked for a restructuring of Nigeria, in line with the principle of true federalism with a view to guaranteeing peace, security, and stability in the country.

Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa who doubles as the Chairman of the South-South Governors Forum, echoed this on Tuesday as the position of the zone during the regional stakeholders meeting with a presidential delegation led by the Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Gambari.

As gathered by Eko Hot Blog, a statement on the outcome of the meeting quoted Okowa as saying that the people of the zone were committed to the restructuring of Nigeria in a way that would guarantee true federalism and devolution of powers to the states.

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“We are all aware of the huge endowment of this country. As such, it is imperative to stress that with few efforts, imagination, hard work, sacrifice and leadership, every state of the federation as of today, has the ability and capability to contribute to the national purse. This should be encouraged rather than the whole country depending substantially on a region of the country.

“What is worse and even more painful in this ugly situation is the deliberate lack of understanding, empathy and the uncompromising attitudes of some Nigerians, who have refused to understand the challenges of the South-South region of the country especially, the degradation of the environment and our waters.

“As a result, most of the demands of the region have remained unattended to while the resources of the region have been used continually to develop other parts of the country.”

On behalf of the region, he reiterated the call for the relocation of the headquarters of major oil companies from Lagos and Abuja to the South-South.