Ernest Chinwo
12 March 2008
analysis
Calabar — The South-South Parliamentary Caucus (SSPC) of the House of Representatives has called on the Federal Government to set up a Committee to handle the resettlement of people displaced from the Bakassi Peninsula.
Chairman of the SSPC, Chief Andrew Uchendu in an interview with THISDAY said the relocation of the people was the responsibility of the Federal Government and that all efforts of the Cross River State Government in resettling the people were only complimentary.
"The SSPC is of the view that it is the responsibility of the Federal Government. The boundary dispute between Nigeria and Cameroon was an international matter and our people in the South-South are the ones that are badly hit. As citizens of this country, the Federal Government should take full responsibility for their resettlement.
"And we are calling on the Federal Government to set up a committee for their resettlement," he said.
Uchendu noted that N1 billion was provided for the development of the Bakassi Local Government in the yet-to-be-passed 2008 federal budget but said the provision had very little to do with the actual resettlement of the people.
He called on the Federal Government to provide extra funds for the resettlement of the people, adding that the people had passed through a lot of trauma since the ceding of the area to the Republic of Cameroon by the administration of former president Olusegun Obasanjo.
The SSPC Chairman who noted that some improvements had been recorded in the 2008 budget however said that a lot still needed to be done to address the problems of the displaced Bakassi people.
He said the caucus was worried at the plight of the people and would continue to pursue their case until they were properly resettled. On the last Local Government elections in the area, Uchendu said the problem arising from the elections may have been exacerbated by the resettlement issue. "But I must quickly add that local government elections, like every other election in this country have been ridded with a lot of interest of one group against the other. There was no boundary adjustment in Kano and we noticed what happened there. There was no boundary adjustment in most other states where there were a lot of protests against the elections. "But I accept that of Cross River state may have been worsened by the boundary adjustment issue. All I will say is that those who express one ambition or the other should do so with some decorum and ensure the survival of the polity," he said. Uchendu reiterated his call on the people of Bakassi to refrain from internal disputes and focus on issues that would unite them in the process of proper relocation and resettlement.
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