By Chukwudi Obasi, Abuja
A member of the House of Representatives, Inombek Abiante, has urged Nigerians to speak out against all forms of oppression, irrespective of biases.
The lawmaker called on Monday when the House of Representatives Committee on FCT Area Councils and Ancillary Matters met with the FCT Traditional Council members in Abuja.
He was reacting to remarks by his colleague, Hon. Jonathan Gwefwi, who condemned the displacement of the original inhabitants of the FCT in the name of resettlement.
“It is painful how the people are being taken advantage of. The people of the FCT have no other home than the FCT.”
The lawmaker recalled multiple resettlement programs that have never ended well in favour of the indigenes.
He also charged the traditional rulers, led by the Chairman of the FCT Traditional Council, HRH Alhaji Adamu Baba Yunusa, to stand firm in defence of their subjects, whom they were appointed to protect.
Abiante took advantage of the session to blame the government for how the people of the Niger Delta have been deprived of their rights, citing the recent proclamation of a state of emergency in Rivers State as oppressive and against the wishes of the people.
“It has happened in Rivers State, and nobody is saying anything. If you don’t speak against injustice today, tomorrow, there will be nobody to speak for you when there is injustice. Today, it has hit you, and it is moving until it gets to everybody,” he said.
The lawmaker recalled that the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) was the private initiative that began crude oil exploration in Nigeria. Things were going well until Nigeria nationalized petroleum as a national asset, setting the stage for the myriad of problems facing the nation today.
