BY EMMA AMAIZE

WARRI-A Niger-Delta activist, Mr Paul Bebenimibo, weekend, said accusation by Northern governors that the governors of South-South states were corrupt was borne out of mischief.

Speaking to Vanguard, he said it was wrong for the northern governors to make such unguarded comments simply because they were rummaging around for reasons to justify their quest for reduction of the 13 per cent derivation paid to oil-producing states.

He said, “comments that South-South people are corrupt due to the derivation money is mischievous, callous and insulting, as corruption is not exclusive to the South-South.

“I call on the Northern governors and elites to exercise maturity in the call for the review of revenue derivation. Use of abusive words is only meant to infuriate the deprived people of the Niger Delta.

“These utterances as ‘the South-South people are corrupt,’ ‘we are ready for a showdown,’ ‘they are oil bunkerers,’ among other are capable of sparking crisis”.

The country is faced with a lot of challenges at the moment, so there is no need to add to it.

“Corruption is not relative to the South, there are Northerners who have and still facing corruption cases with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. The South has sacrificed too much for the unity of the country and should not be viewed as fools.

“Corruption does not have correlation with revenue derivation. Oil bunkering is done by the influential northerners; the southerners are mere foot soldiers to them. The bunkering beneficiaries are mostly retired northern generals.

“They allocate oil blocs to their people to the detriment of the Niger Deltans, that was why former President, the late Umaru Yar’Adua did not allocate to them because he saw the oppression there. All allotted oil blocs should be revoked with immediate effect,” he added.