By SYLVESTER IDOWU, Warri

The need for Nigerian constitution to be revised in line with the recommendations of several national conferences is top among five critical demands enshrined in the Niger Delta Peoples Charter to be unveiled February 23, 2022.

President of Niger Delta Congress (NDC), Mr. Nubari Sataah, who made the disclosure in a press statement released in Warri, Delta State yesterday noted that February 23, 2022, was chosen as preferred date for the unveiling, to commemorate the 55 years anniversary of ‘Niger Delta Republic’ as declared by late Mr. Isaac Adaka Boro in Kaiama in the present day Bayelsa State in 1967.

According to Sataah, the signing of the Niger Delta Peoples Charter (NDPC), which would be done by representatives of the 70 ethnic nationalities that made up the Niger Delta, representatives of organisations in the Niger Delta as well as representatives from states that make up the region: Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River States, commenced with Professor Ebiegberi Joe Alagoa, signing the adopted charter at his country home, Nembe, in Bayelsa State, on behalf of Bayelsa State, Thursday, November 4.

The other four critical demands enshrined in the Niger Delta Peoples Charter, stated thus:

An immediate assessment of the entire Niger Delta environment be made to determine the scale of devastation, any compensation(s) recommended by the national conferences be paid speedily without delay.

The group is also demanding a complete cleanup of the entire Niger Delta region without delay and all monies received by the Nigerian government from the exploitation of crude oil and deprived the people of the Niger Delta, under the guise of ‘derivation formula’ be returned to the Niger Delta.

Ethnic nationalities of the Niger Delta, under the auspices of Niger Delta Congress (NDC) on Friday, October 8, at Ijaw House Complex, Yenagoa in Bayelsa State, adopted a charter of what they termed their inalienable rights, warning that failure by the federal government to adopt a constitution that captures these rights in the shortest possible time, would leave Niger Delta people with no option, “but to exercise our rights to self-determination as a people, independent of the Nigerian federation.”

Motion for acceptance of the charter, was moved by Chairman of NDC, Delta State Chapter, Mr. Destiny Noritsegho, and Seconded by representative of Ibibio Ethnic Nationality, Mr. Ubong Akpana, during a press conference convened by NDC for sons and daughters of the ethnic nationalities that make up Niger Delta region.

The inalienable rights stipulated in the Niger Delta Peoples Charter, are: life and liberty, resource control, sustainable environment, justice and fairness as well as self-determination.

The NDC: “The wishes of our people were dismissed by the pre-determined Henry Willink’s Commission setup by the British Colonial Government for the purpose of looking into our fears. The victimization and robbery of the Niger Delta people, has been done using various laws and decrees, including constitutions, which have over time been forced on our people, despite protest against such from our people." (THISDAY)

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