Hundreds of ex-militant leaders and their boys, yesterday, described as provocative, a statement from Northern delegates at the ongoing national conference calling for the scrapping of the amnesty programme, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, as a way forward for the country.

The ex-warlords, who converged in Bomadi, Delta State, analysed the opinion paper circulated to various committee members at the confab,  noting that it was obvious that the North does not have the interest of the South-South or care for the wellbeing of its people and environment.

Chairman, Phase II  Amnesty Programme, Mr. Preye Ekpebide, who spoke to journalists, advised delegates from the South-East, South-West and South-South to reject the position of the North, noting that the South-South region was yet to realise the full potentials of the establishment of  MNDA and NDDC.

Ekpebide condemned  the Northern delegates for not commending  the Federal Government for granting amnesty to the ex-warlords, noting that the idea had paid off,  making Nigeria the largest economy in Africa and one of the fastest growing economies of the world.

He said: “The Northern delegates at the confab are insensitive to the plight of the oil producing states, who face the brunt  oil pollution, devastation of the ecosystem and gas flaring that are hampering the lives of the inhabitants of these areas. The 13 percent derivation is inadequate and should be reviewed upward.

“If every individual who has land in the North hands over same to the Federal Government, then the South-South will be willing not to lay claim to the oil resources on their land. In the history of revenue sharing in Nigeria, the North and the South-West in the 60s enjoyed 50/50 with the Federal Government.”