Communities accuse government of marginalisation
The People of Ilaje, under the platform of Ilaje Parapo Forum (IPF), Ondo State have alleged marginalisation of the area in the sharing of resources and social amenities in the country.
Ilaje, which claims to have 213 communities and the only oil producing local government in the state, accused government of sidelining its people from running the affairs of the oil producing communities in Nigeria.
According to the President of the forum, Foluso Ajimuda, there is no noticeable government presence commensurate with the council’s input into the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country, as there are no good roads, no drinkable water and no light at the headquarters of “the only local government that produces oil in Ondo State.
“We are oppressed. We suffer in silence. We have no recognition from the Federal Government, most especially, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) that was set up by the Federal Government after the dissolution of the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC). We have seen the continuous marginalisation of the Ilaje people.
“The NDDC projects do not reckon with Ilaje people. We have kept this suffering to ourselves, but time is now running out. We have not resorted to armed insurgency to press home our demands. We have not resorted into kidnapping. We have not resorted into blackmail of the country,” he said.
Ajimuda said they could no longer continue to keep quite, hence the step to make their demands in a peaceful and legitimate manner, with the hope that the Nigerian government, President Muhammadu Buhari and the entire world would listen to their plight.
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