Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The National President of the Ijaw National Congress, INC, Prof. Benjamin Okaba, has reignited the call for full resource control in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta, describing the current 13 percent derivation formula as “monopolistic” and unjust to host communities bearing the brunt of crude oil production.
Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected Executive Committee of the INC Eastern Zone in Port Harcourt, Prof. Okaba said the region can no longer accept a system that centralizes control of oil revenue while leaving producing communities impoverished and environmentally degraded.
“What we want is genuine resource control — not this monopolistic 13 percent derivation. Our people have suffered for too long while others feed fat on our natural wealth,” he declared.
Okaba emphasized that the struggle for resource control is not a call for secession, but for equitable access and management of oil wealth, ensuring that host communities receive direct benefits commensurate with their contribution to the national economy.
He argued that the current fiscal framework under the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA, and Nigeria’s revenue allocation formula fails to address historical injustices in oil resource management.
“For decades, oil has been extracted from the Niger Delta with little or no corresponding development. The environment is destroyed, livelihoods are lost, yet what returns to us is a token 13 percent,” Okaba lamented.
The INC President disclosed that the body is shifting strategy from militancy to constructive engagement and policy-driven advocacy to advance the Niger Delta cause.
“This executive has agreed for a paradigm shift from militancy to intellectualization of the struggle. The strongest weapon now is the pen — which is more powerful than the sword,” he stated.
He added that the INC under his leadership is engaging stakeholders across zones to strengthen unity and mobilize Ijaw communities for greater participation in national planning processes such as the forthcoming population census — an exercise he said would influence future revenue allocation and resource representation.
Okaba also urged newly inaugurated INC Eastern Zone leaders to remain steadfast in demanding transparency and accountability from both government and oil companies operating in their communities.
“Our people must ask the right questions about how oil revenues are spent. We must insist that host communities are no longer treated as afterthoughts,” he said.
In his remarks, the outgone Chairman of the INC Eastern Zone and Okaan-Ama of Egwede, HRM Nla Iraron, expressed concern that political crises and the recent state of emergency in the region had slowed the INC’s developmental agenda.
He cautioned the new leadership to guard against political manipulation and maintain focus on the core objectives of economic justice and environmental recovery for oil-producing areas.
The newly elected Chairman of the INC Eastern Zone, Mr. Peterside Batram, pledged to build on the legacies of his predecessors by promoting unity, transparency, and sustainable development within Ijaw oil-bearing communities.
“This is the beginning of a new chapter for the Ijaw nation. We will ensure that our leadership is defined by purpose, accountability, and impact,” he said.
