A prominent legal practitioner in Akwa Ibom State, Sunday Afiko, has strongly reiterated that oil-producing communities in the region deserve a far greater share of the economic benefits generated from their ancestral lands.
Speaking during an interview with XL News, Afiko emphasized that areas such as Eastern Obolo, Ibeno, Mbo, Oron, and other oil-bearing localities are responsible for an estimated 80% to 90% of the resources driving the state’s economy, largely through extensive offshore oil production activities.
He asserted that this massive contribution to the state’s financial backbone must be met with a proportional commitment to the infrastructural development and overall welfare of the citizens living in the impacted zones.
Despite bearing the heavy economic and environmental burdens of extraction, Afiko expressed deep concern that local residents have yet to genuinely experience the transformative impact of the wealth being pulled from beneath their feet.
He pointed out a stark disconnect between the immense revenue generated from these territories and the meager developmental dividends currently reaching them, necessitating an urgent escalation in targeted investments.
Concluding his remarks, Afiko maintained that communities fueling the state’s prosperity should no longer endure systemic underdevelopment, as he urgently called on the government and relevant stakeholders to prioritize their needs and decisively address local grievances.
