As the clamour for the restructuring of Nigeria gathers momentum as accentuated by the ongoing constitutional review process, Bonny Kingdom in Rivers State has asked for four local government areas and an Ijaw State to be headquartered in Bonny, amongst other critical demands.
Bonny Kingdom, which is the homeland of the Ibani ethnic group, a subset of the larger Ijaw ethnic nationality, made these and other demands at the Zonal Public Hearing on Constitutional Review organized by the Senate, which held in Port Harcourt on May 27, 2021.
The demands were contained in a position paper on the Review of the 1999 Constitution (as Amended) titled “Grand Bonny Kingdom Position on the Review of the Constitution of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria, 1999 (as Amended)” presented by the Convener of the Concerned Associations of Grand Bonny Kingdom, Opuada Willie-Pepple.
The document, which was endorsed by the Amanyanabo, Se-Alapu (Chiefs) and the entire people of Bonny Kingdom, as the collective position of the kingdom on the issues put forward at the public hearing, was jointly signed by Opuada Willie-Pepple, who is also the Secretary, Bonny Kingdom Education Trust Fund; Leader, Bonny Women’s Forum (BWF), Helen Jack-Wilson Pepple; Chancellor, Bonny Gentlemen’s League (BGL), Squadron Leader Olam Allwell-Brown (rtd.); and Leader, Bonny Youth Federation (BYF), Emmanuel Finecountry.
Other signatories included a former member of the House of Representatives, Tonye Longjohn; Chairman, Bonny Lawyers Forum, Torudoghubo Jamaica; Chairman, Secretary and Public Relations Officer, Bonny Kingdom Study Group, Stephen Benstowe, Eric Jumbo and Alfred Allison; and Secretary, Bonny Environment Consultants Committee, Amairigha Hart.
According to Willie-Pepple, the people of Bonny Kingdom are demanding for the creation of four local government areas to be carved out of the current Bonny LGA, explaining that these are Bonny Central LGA with Bonny Town as headquarter, Bonny South LGA with Finima as headquarter, Bonny West LGA with Peterside as headquarter, and Bonny East LGA with Oloma as headquarter.
“Three additional local governments should be created from the present Bonny Local Government Area to compose four LGAs; namely, Bonny Central with Bonny metropolis/Main town as headquarters; Bonny South with Finima as headquarters; Bonny West with headquarters in Peterside; and Bonny East with headquarters in Oloma.”
Willi-Pepple who is a former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Port Harcourt Branch said this move should be a consequence of the devolution of powers to the States of the Federation empowering them to create local governments with full autonomy in line with their respective constitutions.
“Creation of Local Governments: With devolution of powers, each State is at liberty to create local governments with full autonomy in line with their constitutions.”
Furthermore, Bonny Kingdom demanded for a new State to be created from the present Rivers and Bayelsa States to include the Eastern Ijaw ethnic nationalities and Nembe in Bayelsa State with its capital in Bonny.
“The additional state to be created from the South-South Zone, should be carved out from the present day Rivers State to include the Eastern Ijaw ethnic nationalities and Nembe in Bayelsa State; with capital in Bonny.”
The demand was predicated on the need, according to Willie-Pepple, to achieve equity with the number of States in each geopolitical zone, pointing out that the current configuration entrenches lack of fairness, inequity and injustice as the North-West zone has seven States, while the South-East has five, and the North East, North-Central, South-West and South-South have six each.
“Presently, the North-West Zone has 7 states while other zones have 6 states each, except the South-East zone with 5 states. For the purpose of equity, all zones should have equal number of states. Thus, an additional state should be created for all other zones except the North-West zone; while additional 2 states should be created for the South-East zone to bring it at par with other zones with 7 states each. Consequently, the Federal Republic of Nigeria will be composed of 42 states with the FCT.”
Advocates for the restructuring of the country have adduced the basis for creation of states and local government areas to include population and economic viability, among others.
Interestingly, Bonny Local Government Area contributes over a trillion Naira annually to the cumulative national income being the host of several big value economic interests of the Federal Government including Shell Nigeria’s Bonny Oil and Gas Terminal (BOGT); Nigeria LNG’s Natural Gas Liquefaction Plant (NGLP); ExxonMobil Nigeria’s Bonny River Terminal (BRT), among others. It also host the Federal Polytechnic of Oil and Gas, Bonny, a hybrid technical capacity training institution.
Aside the International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in the area, the local government area, which sits on the southern fringe of the nation’s geographical map with its shores lining the Atlantic coastline and shares boundaries with Degema LGA on the Western flank, Andoni LGA on the Eastern flank, Asari-Toru on the North-Western flank and Okrika and Ogu/Bolo LGAs on the North and North-Eastern flanks, is rich with natural resources and economic potentials.
In terms of governance framework, Bonny LGA boasts of one of the best synchronized leadership structure that seamlessly integrates the political, traditional and social aspects. The synergy among the various arms of government and traditional institutions in the area has continued to remain a research topic for many scholars.
Over the years, with the upscale of investment opportunities in the area which have stimulated tremendous economic activities in the area, there has been a population upsurge with the area assuming a cosmopolitan status as both Nigerians and nationals of several countries across the globe have now been working or living there and several others visiting for Tourism.
In terms of security, aside the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), all other components of the nation’s security architecture are present in Bonny LGA. These include the Bonny and Finima divisions of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF); Forward Operating Base (FOB) of the Nigerian Navy; 146 Battalion of the Nigerian Army; one Division each of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Department of State Service (DSS), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA); and a sector of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
This high density of security presence is accentuated by the fact that the Bight of Bonny and the Bonny River, combined, represent a critical component of the Gulf of Guinea security corridor, making the region a strategic flashpoint for maritime security overwatch.
Currently, the Federal Government, in conjunction with the Nigeria LNG, is constructing the 38km Bonny-Bodo Road and Bridges which will connect the Island LGA to other parts of the State upon completion. Sources say the project is at 52% completion stage as at April 2021 with two of the three bridges completed and over 40% of the road completed from the Bodo axis.
Findings by Kristina Reports show that the four communities proposed as headquarters of the proposed LGAs represent economic hubs in their own respects. Finima hosts majority of the multinationals in the area. Oloma is expected to host the proposed Deep Seaport recently flagged off by the Federal Ministry of Transport. Peterside, home of one of Nigeria’s foremost nationalists, Harold Dappa-Biriye, is host to several Federal Government projects and a strategic seaport for maritime activities; while Bonny Main Town remains a convergence point for the global business community and a thriving economic hub in its own respect.
Main Roundabout, Bonny Town. Photo Credit: Bonny Island Magazine 
NLNG Residential Area in Bonny Island
It is also on record that almost all leaders of Nigeria – heads of state, presidents, senate presidents, etc. – either schooled in Bonny, visited Bonny or had their tour of duty as military commanders, administrators or other service roles in Bonny LGA. Thus, Bonny Kingdom’s contributions to Nigeria’s socio-economic and socio-political development, cultural ethos and legendary hospitality needs no special introduction.
Expectations are high that the current leadership of the Senate and the House of Representatives will accord the demands of the Bonny people the special consideration they deserve as compensation for their being good custodians of the nation’s wealth over the years.
Good one guys, it’s high time we begin to speak out irrespective of what befalls us as a people. We have the capacity in achieving this and I wish those at the saddle the very best.
I want to say a special thank you to our father the King for assembling Bonny kingdom Eggheads for birthing of this uncommon project called the new era. Your majesty, you are one of a kind. Is now or never, as such, going by the Nigerian core system of promoting a bill, is a sure money play, where the Senate leads must be financially tipped or lobbied as a way of motivating them to do our bid. We need all the support from the IOCS to make this a reality
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