Chairman of Warri North Local Government Area, Delta State, Chief Francis Maku, has decried the exclusion of the Itsekiri ethnic nationality in the state from the 2017 budget of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, urging President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene. Maku, who spoke through his media assistant during a peaceful rally at NDDC office in Warri, pointed out that the commission did not include a single project in any Itsekiri community. He said: “Itsekiri ethnic nationality, which has contributed over 80 per cent resources to federal coffers, cannot be said not to have even a single project from NDDC, while others who do not contribute up to 10 per cent to federal coffers have chunks of the projects in their communities.

“Itsekiri people are peace loving people, who neither take to arms nor believe in the destruction of government property. Therefore, we stand the chance of benefiting from our being calm over the years.”

He called on President Buhari to look at the pains of the Itsekiri people, adding, “It calls for urgent attention and critical review of the budget for all to see.” (Vanguard)

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