13th October, 2021
By Victor Nwachukwu
Governor Hope Uzodimma has called for the creation of a special fund to compensate the southeast zone for its losses during the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War.
Uzodimma made the call Wednesday, according to a release circulated by his Chief Press Secretary, Oguwike Nwachuku.
The governor made the call while flagging off the Zonal Public Hearing on the Review of the Current Revenue Allocation Formula for the southeast states, organised by the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Commission in Owerri.
According to him, the demand is predicated on the fact that the Civil War resulted in the loss of millions of lives with women and children losing their breadwinners.
He said that for the reason of Boko Haram, the North East Development Commission was created while the Niger Delta Development Commission was created for the oil-rich south-south region.
Meanwhile, he argued that there was enough reason to create the South-East Development Commission as a special fund to bring succour to the people of the zone who were devastated during the war.
However, he commended the bold steps taken by the Commission towards a review of the current revenue allocation formula while requesting it to look into the Oil Well matter between Imo and Rivers states to resolve it in the interest of justice.
“Imo State has the highest gas deposits in Nigeria yet, revenue from these deposits and production does not accrue to the state.
“The State has suffered great injustice on Revenue Sharing and we demand justice and fair play as the yardstick for equity.
“This injustice has snowballed into gross underdevelopment of the oil and gas producing areas, resulting in youth restiveness, insecurity and other vices,” he said.
Furthermore, he charged oil and gas companies in the state to develop a process that will result in creating a value chain and reinvest the proceeds into the producing areas.
In addition, he assured the commission of legislative and executive support to enable it to achieve more as a committed organisation.
“Imo needs petrochemical industries, fertiliser plants and other oil and gas establishments to improve on her economy, create jobs and stem the tide of insecurity,” he said.
NAN