Akwa Ibom group urges restructuring, review of oil blocks

Ayade names women development centre after Senator Rose Oko

Agitators, under the aegis of Niger Delta Liberation Force (NDLF), Akwa Ibom State, has urged total restructuring of the country to pave way for decentralisation of powers.

The group, in a statement by Nkarijo Waribo and Victor Eyoh, said that the call was based on the realisation that the Federal Government is investing in the development of gold in Zamfara State through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to allow the state develop and control the production of gold.

The agitators also demanded implementation of resource control by the respective states/geopolitical regions that own the natural resources to enable them fully exploit the resources to their own advantage and economic development.

Besides, the NDLF also urged immediate review of the control of oil blocks and marginal oil fields, return of oil blocks owned by non-Niger Delta indigenes to the Niger Delta people and relocation of oil and gas companies’ headquarters to the Niger Delta. The group said: “It is a clear case of injustice for some individuals who are mostly non-indigenes of the region to hold oil wells and enrich themselves and their families at the expense of the people of the region.”

The group, which alleged that the controllers of oil blocks were causing troubles in the region through an illegal connivance with the officials and security operatives to shortchange the people, urged the scrapping of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, saying that it had failed to fulfill its mandate.

MEANWHILE, Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade has approved the renaming of the Women Development Centre, Calabar, after late Senator Rose Oko.

To mark this development, a bust in memory of the late senator was unveiled at the centre, yesterday, after a valedictory service at the state’s Executive Council Chambers.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Christian Ita, the governor said the centre would now be known as Senator Rose Oko Women Development Centre.He said: “Today, I approved the renaming of the Women Development Centre, Calabar, after our departed illustrious daughter, Senator Rose Oko.

“Senator Oko was the pride of Cross River State, one of our very best; therefore, no honour is too much to bestow on her. She deserves the best of honours.”