Bayelsa state governor, Senator Douye Diri, has urged the President Bola-Tinubu-led administration to allow the people of Niger Delta to control their God-given resources and pay taxes to the federal government.
Diri made the appeal while speaking during the 15th memorial celebration of Chief Melford Okilo, former governor of old Rivers State on Tuesday.
The governor described the late politician as a nationalist who moulded him politically.
The Governor said he followed the footsteps of Okilo, got involved in Ijaw activism and was exposed to the injustices he always complained about and sought to change.
Diri urged the political class to emulate the late Rivers governor and shun the culture of violence just to occupy a political office.
Diri, while recounting the ideals of Okilo, called on President Tinubu to restructure Nigeria to address some of the injustices which he (Tinubu) also suffered.
The governor harped on the need for the Niger Delta region of the country to be allowed to control their natural resources without federal government’s interference.
