Review Practice Of President Acting As Petroleum Minister, Group Tells Tinubu

The Movement for the Survival of the Izon Ethnic Nationality in the Niger Delta (MOSIEND) has called on President Bola Tinubu to review the practice of the president serving as substantive minister of petroleum.

MOSIEND president, Dr Kennedy West, who made the call in a statement issued in Port Harcourt yesterday, to mark the 58th Isaac Boro Day celebration, stated that effective governance thrives on institutional accountability, specialisation and transparent oversight.

West further stated that if direct presidential supervision is deemed necessary for optimal service delivery in petroleum, then by same logic such oversight should equally extend to critical sectors such as defence and solid minerals.

“We respectfully call on Bola Ahmed Tinubu to critically review the practice of the President serving as substantive Minister of Petroleum. Effective governance thrives on institutional accountability, specialization, and transparent oversight.

“If direct presidential supervision is deemed necessary for optimal service delivery in petroleum, then by same logic such oversight should equally extend to critical sectors such as defence and solid minerals. Nigerians deserve consistency, transparency, and measurable performance across all strategic sectors,” he said.

The MOSIEND leader described the late Boro as a visionary son of the Niger Delta whose struggle transcended ethnic identity and spoke to the collective aspirations of all minority nationalities of the region.

West said though late Boro’s agitation was of Ijaw heritage, it was never for the Ijaw alone, adding that his revolutionary call was for the emancipation, dignity, justice, and equitable treatment of all oppressed minorities of the Niger Delta.

“On this historic 58th commemoration of Boro’s Day, Movement for the Survival of the Izon Ethnic Nationality in the Niger Delta (MOSIEND) reflects on the enduring legacy of Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro, a visionary son of the Niger Delta whose struggle transcended ethnic identity and spoke to the collective aspirations of all minority nationalities of the region.

“Though of Ijaw heritage, Boro’s agitation was never for the Ijaw alone. His revolutionary call was for the emancipation, dignity, justice, and equitable treatment of all oppressed minorities of the Niger Delta.

“It is therefore important to state that the commemoration of Boro’s Day must not be reduced to an Ijaw youth event alone. Doing so diminishes the broader significance of his sacrifice and narrows the historic burden he carried for the entire Niger Delta.

“Fifty-eight years after his prophetic declaration, the injustices and dissatisfaction he identified remain substantially unresolved. The structural imbalance in resource ownership, weak fiscal federalism, environmental degradation, political exclusion, and the persistent implementation of policies perceived as anti-oil-producing communities continue to validate Boro’s concerns,” he said.