A pan-Kalabari group in present Rivers State, have advocated for the creation of Oil Rivers State in the ongoing exercise to review the 1999 Constitution by the National Assembly.
The demand is being championed by the Kengema Unity Forum (KUF), which represents the interest of the Kalabaris and the Niger Delta region.
This was contained in a 22-point memorandum submitted to the Senate Constitution Review Committee, through the group’s founder, High Chief Sobomabo Jackrich, a Niger Delta stakeholder, to the committee chaired by the Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege, during the public hearing in Port Harcourt, in Rivers state between May 27 and 28.
“We propose to the National Assembly via this honourable committee to consider the creation of an Oil Rivers State from the current Rivers State that will consist of the following LGAs, Asari Toru, Akuku Toru, Bonny, Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Okrika, Ogu/bolo, Degema, Abua/Odual and Ahoada West LGAs, with a headquarters at the old British consulate, Degema Town.
“When created, the Oil Rivers STATE will have a viable economy with a population of approximately 2,567,400 according to 2016 population projection and will occupy an area of 4,874.97km² from the overall 11,077km² of the current Rivers State.”
The Forum demanded that the Constitution should provide for resource control and ownership rights of natural resources by the people themselves where such resources are located whether on land, under the ground or sea including the economic zones. It added that the government should only regulate exploration, production and mining activities and collect Tax.
The Forum, which called for the outright scrapping of the current constitution and its replacement with a new one that will reflect the true yearnings and aspirations of the people, said the new constitution should provide that the Presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should be rotational.
“The right to Self -determination should be reinforced in the 1999 Constitution as a fundamental right of the people as enshrined in relevant international legal instruments which Nigeria is a signatory to.
“The statutory 13% derivation fund for oil-producing states should be upwardly reviewed and the fund should be paid directly to the oil-bearing communities to execute projects peculiar to them and not to the governors of the state,” the Forum stated.
