YENAGOA — A Niger Delta stakeholder, Joseph Ambakederimo, has called for a fundamental restructuring of Nigeria’s federal system, advocating for equitable distribution of resources and greater opportunities for the country’s constituent regions.
Ambakederimo made the call ahead of his 65th birthday breakfast media chat series, scheduled to hold on Saturday, August 15, 2026, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, with the theme “Federalism with Equity: Fair Resources, Fair Opportunities.”
He argued that the current federal arrangement in Nigeria was incapable of guaranteeing the rapid development required to position the country to benefit from the Fourth and Fifth Industrial Revolutions being pursued globally.
According to him, Nigeria’s development has been “stunted over many years” by what he described as a constricted federal system of government.
He likened the situation to a house built on a faulty foundation, warning that such a structure could collapse at any time if fundamental issues were not addressed.
Ambakederimo also cautioned against measuring development by the individual wealth or successes of a few Nigerians, stressing that the prosperity of individuals should not be equated with the overall well-being of the people in the Niger Delta region.
He maintained that the agitation for equitable distribution of resources should not be abandoned simply because some individuals from the region had become comfortable.
According to him, the relative comfort enjoyed by a few people has not translated into a significant improvement in the standard of living of the majority of the people in the region.
“We cannot abandon the agitation for equitable distribution of resources because a few individuals have become comfortable and sometimes dispense handouts to our impoverished brothers and sisters,” he said.
He urged Niger Delta people to sustain the agitation for resource control, stressing that the demand must be pursued within the ambit of the law.
Ambakederimo further observed that some individuals who had attained prominent positions in society had benefited from the agitation for resource control, yet many communities in the region remained impoverished.
He therefore appealed to the people of the Niger Delta to unite and support the campaign for resource control, saying improved control over the region’s resources remained critical to addressing poverty and raising the standard of living of its people.
He said the proposed media chat would provide an opportunity for further discussion on federalism, resource allocation, equity and development in Nigeria.