WEDNESDAY, 16TH MAY, 2001
Mbu distances self from abandoned property issue.

By Sam Onwuemeodo

PORT HARCOURT - CHAIRMAN of the council of Eastern states, Chief Matthew Mbu has dismissed insinuations that the council is out to pursue the abandoned property issue.

Chief Mbu meeting with Governor Peter Odili of Rivers state in Port Harcourt said the council was formed to complement the efforts of the Eastern states, and find a common understanding in the promotion of the mutual interest of the region.

The council, he maintained, would therefore continue to work toward those factors that united the region in the past, and against those that divided the people.

On the issue of resource control, Mbu remarked that there was nothing "wrong in asking for the administration of the resources of Nigeria, but the demand should be done in an equitable manner. If the word, control, is so misconstrued, what is wrong in asking for equitable share in the resources that are mostly produced in the Eastern states?" he said.

"I remind those who oppose the notion of control, to understand the ecological hazards that the people who inhabit the areas face. But I hope that a political solution would be found to the equitable distribution of Nigeria’s wealth.

"What the people of the region need now is to live in harmony and eschew the bitterness and rancour that ruled the area in past", he added.

The elder statesman described as derogatory the word marginalisation as often used by people to illustrate their state of neglect, and advise the Eastern council of states to find a substitute.

In his response, Dr. Odili described the council as a positive step since it was aimed at enhancing political cohesion, cooperation and the well-being of the people the old Eastern region.