Former presidential aide, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla has faulted the promoters of Ohoja State.
He said they did not consult with critical stakeholders, especially the component units, to know if they might like to be part of the proposed state.
He disclosed this in a petition to the leadership of the House of Representatives, noting that the promoters of the state creation movement erroneously included Abi and Yakurr Local Government Areas of Cross River State without the consent of their people, stressing that they cannot be forced to join any state.
“Their proposition to create Ogoja State out of the present Cross River State was in response to the request from the House of Representatives Committee on Constitutional Review.
“They had said that their proposal represents the interests of the people of the Northern and Central Senatorial Districts of Cross River State, comprising 11 local government areas: Abi, Boki, Bekwarra, Etung, Ikom, Obubra, Obudu, Obanliku, Ogoja, Yakurr and Yala.
“They failed to consult adequately with the people of Abi and Yakurr Local Government Areas which are in the central district before including them in the proposed Ogoja State.
“This lack of consultation and disregard for the views of the people of Abi and Yakurr Local Government Areas is unacceptable. Under both municipal and international law, we have the right to self-determination, and no person or group has the right to coerce us into being part of a state against our will,” he said.
The legal expert argued that the people of Abi and Yakurr Local Government Areas have the fundamental and inalienable rights to exercise self-determination and freedom of association as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999, as amended).
He insisted that the people of Abi and Yakurr Local Government Areas categorically disassociated themselves from the proposal to include them in the proposed Ogoja State, urging the leadership of the House of Representatives to disregard any reference to Abi and Yakurr in the memorandum submitted for the creation of Ogoja State.
“We affirm that the people of Abi and Yakurr Local Government Areas unequivocally wish to remain part of the present Cross River State, even if the proposed Ogoja State is created.
“The people of Abi and Yakurr share deep ethnographic, cultural, historical, economic, and anthropological ties with the people of Bakassi, Calabar, Odukpani, Akpabuyo, Calabar South, Akamkpa, and Biase Local Government Areas, and desire to continue to be in the same state with them,” he declared.
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