Olisa Agbakoba Files A Fundamental Rights Class Action Against The Federal Republic of Nigeria

*Olisa Agbakoba (pix: vanguard) Mr. Olisa Agbakoba has filed a Fundamental Rights Class Action against the Federal Republic of Nigeria for himself and on behalf of the South East Zone on grounds of discrimination pursuant to Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution. This action was by Originating Summons supported by an affidavit of 99 paragraphs and a statement. The grounds of Mr. Agbakoba’s application are summarized as follows;  (a) Total neglect of the Applicant’s Geopolitical Zone by the 1st Respondent in terms of infrastructure and general federal presence making the Applicant feel not part of the 1st Respondent.  (b) Abandonment of the Niger Bridge to collapse and failure to build the ‘Second Niger Bridge’ making the Applicant feel isolated from other parts of 1stRespondent and causing him apprehension about disaster on crossing the existing bridge.  (c) Abandonment of Federal Roads, which are death traps and robbery baits and occasioning and constraining on the Applicant grueling road journeys within the Geopolitical Zone. Failure to develop strategic new roads especially the Anam-Nzam Federal Road linking the South-East with the North-Central at Idah in Kogi State to give the Applicant easy access to the northern part of Nigeria. (d) Failure to exploit the Oil/Gas Reserves in the Anambra Basin and stalling the Applicant’s legitimate expectation from employment and derivation funds for development of the Applicant’s South-East Zone.  (e) Abandonment of the Enugu Colliery and depriving the Applicant of his legitimate expectation from employment and derivation funds for the development of the Applicant’s South-East Zone.  (f) Failure to develop trade-friendly ports and customs policies and establish ‘ease-of-business’ platforms to assist the Applicant’s trading brothers and sisters to do better and operate on a higher and modern scale in trading, which makes the Applicant to spend money to support relatives.  (g) Failure to have an operational international cargo airport at Owerri to aid trading, which causes the Applicant to spend huge sums of money to support trading relatives to haul airborne goods by road from Lagos, , with the attendant risks.  (h) Failure to dredge the Lower Niger and establish a Port at Onitsha to aid trading which causes the Applicant to spend huge sums of money to support trading relatives to haul seaborne goods by road from Port Harcourt or Lagos, with the attendant risks.  (i) Disparity in States structure which puts the Applicant’s South-East Zone behind every other Geopolitical Zone in political and judicial appointments and representation at the National Assembly, as well as in revenue allocation.