..Set for maiden Egi development summit
Stakeholders in Egi Kingdom in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government area of Rivers State under the aegis of Egni Professors and Academic Doctors Forum (EPADOF), have decried the level of underdevelopment in the area despite housing huge natural endowments.
EPADOF at a press conference in Port Harcourt on Friday lamented alleged neglect of Egi kingdom by the government, despite being a major oil producing community playing host to oil and gas giants including TotalEnergies, Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC), and others, supplying over 50 percentage of Nigeria’s major source of income (oil and gas).
Addressing the press conference, President of EPADOF, Prof. Daniel Ndubuisi Ogum regretted that the enormous natural endowments in Egni land was yet to translate to the development of the area, stressing that the people have been left to suffer from the hazards attached with gas flaring and oil exploitation and exploration in the area.
He called on the federal and state governments to come to the aid of the people and provide basic amenities and job opportunities for the youths and young ones in the area.
According to him, “Over the past 50 decades, crude petroleum and natural gas had been extracted from our Egi homeland. So much revenue had been donated to the Nigerian nation from what we have as our endowment of nature. But there are no flyovers in Egi, no visible development, there is nothing to show that this is a place that feeds the country with huge volume of her major source of income (oil and gas).
“There is no functional hospital today in all sixteen communities of Egi land as I speak. There is no hospital in the entire Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA that has oxygen. So if there is a case of emergency, it is a case of God be with you till we meet again.
“When we were young, we knew a lot of animals, plants and species of fishes in our area, but today, they are no more because of the deplorable condition of oil exploitation and exploration. We are in pain.
“However, as a peace loving people, we are begging on the federal and state governments to come to our aid, to help our children go to school well.
Speaking further, he said “When you are in a land and you’ve seen so much wealth and there is no opportunity to partake of these wealth, it is very likely that there may be one or two forms of disturbances. We want sound education for our children to go to school and to enjoy what is good.
“Today its knowledge driven economy. We will not wait till oil and gas cease to be in our Egi homeland”, he said.
The EPADOF President also disclosed the preparedness of the body to organise a maiden Development Summit on Tuesday December 26, 2023 at Obite Town in the area.
Prof. Ogum hinted that the Egni Development Summit will address critical issues and challenges in the area, produce the Egni Declaration, 2023 which according to him will serve as a compass and strategic plan for the kingdom in the decades ahead, chart a new course of progress for the Egni people, for the benefit of humanity and also define the destiny of the people.
His words, “The summit will address key issues such as; peace and security in Egi land, education, youth and women empowerment, health challenges, Egi urbanisation, investment and industry, institutional and traditional leadership, Egi development timelines and Egi identity to include history, culture, language, religion, anthem, and politics.
“Participants at the forthcoming summit will lay a solid foundation and erect a sustainable superstructure of development for our Egi homeland.”
He said the group will be partnering with other critical stakeholders in the area to ensure the success of the forthcoming summit.
