A former Federal Commissioner for Information, Chief Edwin Clark, has claimed that the Federal Government has abandoned the Ijaw ethnic nationality.
He said the suffering and under-development of the region, “is worse than that of the almajiris up North.”
Calrk made this statement when he played host to the Ijaw Professionals’ Association, IPA, Homeland chapter.
According to the elder statesman, the Federal Government was not committed to developing the Niger Delta region to the taste of the people.
He urged political leaders to utilize funds accruable to the region for the development of the area.
Speaking shortly after the meeting, Clark said, “Nobody who lives upland in this country will ever appreciate the suffering we have been living with.
“We live in water, yet we have no water to drink. We have no healthcare, no schools, no roads, yet we produce the resources that oil the wheel of this country.
“Those exploiting the oil in our land have been very selfish, unjust and oppressive. They want to perpetually own the resources and we say no.
“There are even people who believe that for the Federal Government to exploit our oil, we should be removed from the area to make it easier to shortchange us. God will never agree with them. They say we are militants. Who would stay in his own house and allow a stranger to come and pour sand on his head? We will continue to fight for our God-given rights.”