From Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
The Benin National Congress (BNC) has appealed to the Minister of Niger Delta, Engr. Abubakar Momoh, to revisit the budget of the ministry with the view of including areas not earlier captured to promote inclusiveness in the state.
The president of the group, Aiyamenkhue Edokpolo, made the appeal in Benin City.
He said in their letter of January 24, 2024, to the chairman, BRACED Commission Council, Governor Godwin Obaseki, Edo State Governor’s Office, Government House, Benin, they raised the complaint with respect to the undeserving, unfair and macroscopically obvious discrimination leading to the exclusion of Edo South Senatorial District from the allocation/siting of projects in this year’s budget of the ministry of the Niger Delta.
Edokpolo added that they had in their letter of December 21, 2023 which was addressed to HRM, Omo N’Oba N’Edo anticipated, Ewuare II CFR, the Oba of Benin, also expressed their surprise about the lopsided allocation by the ministry of the Niger-Delta in its distribution of projects to be executed under the 2024 budget, when all the five major projects under his ministry were allocated/sited exclusively in his Edo North to the exclusion of other parts of the Niger-Delta communities, especially Edo South senatorial District – being the area with oil and gas production basin of the Niger-Delta
He said in their assumption that it was a mistake, they did not believe that it could have been an intentional oversight, and they therefore sought to draw the attention of the ministry and the Honourable Minister to this lacuna in its 2024 budget projects distribution.
The BNC president added that the document also highlighted the major projects including the federal government’s proposed 2024 national budget favouring Edo North For instance, N1.50b is allocated to the construction of 45km Okpella North, Ibie-Agenobode Road, Phase 1 in Edo State.
He said the federal government also allocated N800m for the construction of classrooms in the nine Niger Delta States (global); design and construction of Ekperi Osomegbe Road, amounting to N545m. Other projects to be executed in Northern Edo State are the construction of Ihievhe Ihievhe Ogbe Road and the N500m construction of Iyukwu Atte Road in Akoko Edo, LGA.
He said in giving credence to the exclusion of Edo South Senatorial District, Senator Oyofo felicitated with the Honourable Minister for these projects given to his area, (Edo North Senatorial District) but the same cannot be said of Edo South Senatorial District that has the absolute population majority and land mass of the state.
He maintained that they are dismayed to have read that the Honourable Minister probably did this on purpose stemming from the justifications he had sought to give for concentrating all major projects within his constituency, which is not an oil and gas producing area of Edo State, knowing well that Edo State is Niger-Delta, because Edo South sits on the bight of Benin and other Niger Estuaries such as Gelegele, and Edo South Senatorial District is the oil and gas producing District of Edo State.
He asked what other parameters could have excluded Edo South Senatorial District from qualifying for any of the ministry of the Niger-Delta projects, for which the Honourable Minister so blatantly excluded them?
He, however, said that the minister, Engr Abubakar Momoh, still stands the chance of revisiting the budget.
“We humbly request that the budget of the ministry of the Niger-Delta be revisited to enable the needful corrections in the allocation of projects to include Edo South Senatorial District being the largest by land mass, the largest by population, the only District in Edo State that is oil and gas producing with its well known environmental degradation to stave off the anger over this unmerited deprivation,” Edokpolo added.