11 July 2008
Members of Ikwerre Monitoring Group (IMG), a socio-cultural group of Ikwerre indigenes in the United States of America and the Diaspora, have expressed satisfaction in the combined efforts of the people of Niger Delta in blocking the choice of Professor Ibrahim Gambari as the chairman of the steering committee of the proposed Niger-Delta summit by the federal government.
Members of the group contend that it was a tactical error on the part of the government to even suggest the professor's name, considering his strongly held views on the Niger Delta question.
A spokesperson of the group, Mr. Chindah Wami, in a statement, pointed out that Gambari's insensitive views on the Niger Delta question made his moral stature to win the confidence of all the stakeholders during the summit questionable.
Wami recalled that Gambari had previously said that the oil in the Niger Delta belongs to all of us and therefore indigenes of the region cannot lay exclusive claim to the ownership of oil in the Niger Delta even though the Niger Delta communities alone bear the deleterious effects arising from the extraction of oil in the region.
Wami said that members of the group have also commended the federal government for listening to the anxieties and concerns of the people of the Niger Delta over inappropriateness of Gambari's appointment to chair the summit.
He said that members of the IMG want the government to appoint Chief Emeka Anyaoku and/or Mr. Nelson Mandela as chairman or co-chairmen of the summit.
According the Ikwerre group, Chief Anyaoku will bring both local understanding and international perspectives to the table. As for Mandela, the group said through its spokesperson, "he will bring the moral force and international respect which the government needs," to ensure fairness in the outcome of the summit.
On representations at the peace summit, Wami said the Ikwerre group wants the organizers to insure that invitations are properly sent to all the ethnic nationalities in the region, including Orhobo, Efik, Edo, Ogba/Egbema, Ndoni, Ijaw, Ibibio, Ikwerre, Itshekiri, Etche, Ogoni, Ekpeye, Eleme and Ika.
"This inclusiveness is in line with Vice President Goodluck Jonathan's earlier promise that all ethnic groups in the Niger Delta region will be represented during the talks.
Members of the Ikwerre group asked federal government authorities to demonstrate sincerity and honesty during the peace talks.
IMG said that one of the things that will bring lasting peace and an end to the Niger Delta crisis is the approval of a revenue allocation formula that will be based on 50% derivation.
The Ikwerre group said that at the core of the Niger Delta crisis is the issue of development, pointing out that what will help develop the region is the approval of a formula whereby 50% of the revenue will be allocated to the region where the revenue is obtained.
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