An Ijaw leadership group on Wednesday called for a review of the
leadership process to ensure that those who occupy public offices are
answerable and accountable to the people.
The group, G24 Embasara Foundation unveiled its plan at a one day summit
on Visionary Leadership, Good Governance and Sustainable Development in Bayelsa
held in Yenagoa.
Speaking at the event, Chairman of the group, Chief Amba Ambaiowei said
that the organisation was made up of Ijaw people who are concerned about the
under development in Ijaw land who believe that the people deserved improved
social amenities.
He said that although, the group was non-partisan, it would ensure that
those who have shown poor leadership in the executive and legislative arms of
government were not voted into office as the group would scritinise the
competences of ijaws seeking public office.
“There should be no imposition of candidates on the electorate by any
Governor or political party, the popular candidates by the choice of the people
should emerge.
“We want a change and for a change we stand'” Ambaiowei said.
Also Mr Inuruo Wills, a former Commisioner in Bayelsa and Co-Convener of
the group said that the group was developing the Ijaw Nation Code of Ethics,
Leadership and Governance which every prospective public office holder must
subscribe to.
He said that the group was ilso interested in building the leadership
capacity to prepare Ijaw people for leadership positions.
Speaking on the Theme, Keys to Visionary Leadership, Good Governance and
Sustainable Environment, Rev Nnimmo Bassey, a renowned Environmentalist noted
that oil and gas exploration and production had distorted the biodiversith of
the Niger Delta region.
He said that the environment had suffered because lack of leadership
with interest of protecting the environment as well as weak regulatory
environment which has led to ‘ecocide’, destruction of the natural ecosystem.
He maintained that oil exploration had adverse consequences on the
environment and was not sustainable, adding that efforts were not made to
deploy the oil resources to conserving the environment.
“Oil production depletes environmental resouces, for every barrel of
oil, there is over 13 barrels of toxic effluents that comes from the oil wells
and nobody gives account of these wastes which the oil firms discharge into the
environment.
“How has the 13 percent derivation acruing to the oil producing states
been utilised ?, what we see is that the resources are used to develop the
urban centres while the rural areas are left behind to wallow in abject
poverty.
“The attitude of our leaders in the Niger Delta region has made the
environmental component of the Petroleum legislation to be at the background
rather than the forefront.
“We have about 6.5 million people involved in fishing related activities
threatened by the oil industey which employs some 5,000 people, our leaders
should think of the jobs of the majority and channel resources to developing
renewable energy,” Bassey said.
He said that there is no future for fossil fuels which will be depleted
in a few decades since the world had moved, making advances and developed cars
that run without oil.
Bassey called for attitudinal change by the people in the Niger Delta,
to refrain from pipeline vandalism, oil theft and illegal oil refining which
further degenerates the environment.
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