The Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has dismissed claims by the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) that the North is being marginalised under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, saying, “Our resources feed the nation, while resources from other geopolitical zones, including the North, are kept for their own use and personal gain.”
PANDEF asserts that the Niger Delta region is the most marginalised region in Nigeria.
In a statement released on Saturday, PANDEF’s National Spokesman, Chief Christopher Ominimini, argued that the Niger Delta, the source of Nigeria’s oil wealth, has been neglected and exploited for decades.
He stressed that despite contributing significantly to the nation’s economy, the region continues to suffer from environmental degradation, poverty, and underdevelopment.
Ominimini said this in reaction to a statement by the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) to President Tinubu on Thursday, which alleged that his government’s economic policies were impoverishing the North.
Ominimini criticised the federal government’s failure to address the region’s issues, particularly the pollution caused by oil exploration and production activities.
He questioned the lack of transparency in the oil industry, noting that the region’s people have little to no control over their resources.
The PANDEF spokesman also raised concerns about the government’s approach to mining, arguing that the North benefits disproportionately from the exploitation of mineral resources.
“The gold deposits in Northern Nigeria and other parts of the country have not been considered for the benefit of the entire country but rather for the indigenes and top individual businesses, including foreign nationals like the Chinese and Lebanese, all for individual benefits,” he said.
He called for a more equitable distribution of the nation’s wealth and urged the government to prioritise the development of the Niger Delta region.
“The Nigerian state is wicked to the Niger Delta Region. The rulers prefer collecting penalties from international oil companies for flaring gas rather than addressing the environmental disaster caused by gas flaring, which could be converted for domestic use and economic purposes,” he said, adding: “Our fishing and farming activities are now impossible as our ecosystem has been destroyed by oil exploitation. Our lifespan is shortened, and we bear the brunt of the oil exploitation alone.”
PANDEF also criticised the lack of corporate social responsibility from International Oil Companies and the federal government, as well as the absence of Niger Delta representation in key positions in the oil industry, such as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited board.
Ominimini said, “The only region that can truly claim marginalisation or impoverishment in Nigeria is the Niger Delta Region. PANDEF believes that justice must be holistic, and the most impoverished people in Nigeria are those of the Niger Delta. This must be addressed without delay.”
