The former President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Ukachukwu Awuzie, has challenged the formula for the distribution of national resources, insisting that it was one of the injustices against the Igbo nation and one, which Ndigbo must speak up against.
Speaking shortly after his election as the President of Alaigbo Development Foundation (ADF), an Igbo think-tank group, he stated that the unequal distribution of national resources had affected the development of Igbo land.
He said: “Igbo are challenged in several places, in government, establishment, and even in the five states we have. The challenges are enormous. If you look at it, the five states of the South East have 47 members of the House of Reps. The Old Kano State, which includes the current Kano and Jigawa, has a total of 34.
“This is a challenge because it affects how we distribute the national resources. It also affects employment, because we are talking about federal character. So, there are a lot of things that are involved.
“The whole of Kano and Sokoto Emirate controls two-thirds of local councils in Nigeria. When you put all these together, you will see that even the so-called 13 per cent derivation given down here is nothing in terms of what happens. Look at the allocation.
“I am saying that we have to talk and we have to write. We have to create pressure groups. And if our people support what we are saying, you have to put pressure on them. That is how to change things in the government. We are not going tonight, but we shall use intellectual wealth.”
Awuzie, also a former Vice Chancellor of the Imo State University, was returned elected alongside former National Deputy President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Abia Onyike, as National Secretary, in an election supervised by the members of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the group in Enugu.
He pledged that the group under him would lead the way in articulating challenges facing Ndigbo to proffer solutions to them.
