By Sola Shittu
Reporter, Ibadan

Okunronmu who represented Ogun Central in the Senate during the last dispensation was not happy at the Northerners’ insistence that the South-South people should accept the 17 per cent recommendation or nothing else.

To him, the action of the Northern delegates smirks of arrogance, which is not good for the continued existence of the country.

He warned that the implication of rejecting the 25 per cent demand of the oil producing region may be too grave for the country and called for matured handling of the Issue.

Okunronmu who spoke with newsmen in Ibadan, Oyo State said: “The North is arrogant and selfish over resource control. I must warn here that the stability of Nigeria hinges on what we do on the issue.’’

He insisted that the issue of resource control is not a new one adding that the Niger-Delta people are merely asking for a return to the ‘covenant’ that the country had before independence

“Anyone that is realistic, nationalistic and progressive-minded will accept that resource control is not only in the interest of the South-South but also in the interest of the entire country. If you go back to the first republic when we had three regions, there was rapid progress. That progress was possible because each region has substantial control over resources found in its territory, and merely paid a portion of it to the centre.

There were incentives for each region to try to mobilise a resource that was why the South-West put everything into cocoa production. Farm centres were developed, cocoa research institute was set up – all these were to boost cocoa production and agriculture.