 |
| *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.
| 
