The Niger Delta Youth Council (NDYC) Worldwide has rejected in strong terms, calls by the Coalition of Niger Delta Civil Society Organisations in conjunction with Ex-millitant Forum for a nationwide protest against leadership of Dr. Samuel Ubuku and Mr. Chiedu Ebie; Managing Director and Board Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) respectively.
The group in a letter addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu accused the Managing Director of mismanagement, lopsided projects and contracts while calling for the sack of the Chairman of the Board whose appointment they claimed contravened the NDDC Act.
But the NDYC in a strongly worded rebuttal, signed by the trio of Engr.Jator Abido, Comr Collins Achakpekri and Engr. Beke Apere; National Coordinator, Director of International Relations, and Chairman Board of Trustees respectively, copies of which were made available to journalists in Abuja, debunking the allegations made against the NDDC management by persons they described as enemies of the region who want to slow the wheels of progress under the current NDDC leadership.
“It is utterly callous and blatant falsehood to cast the administration of Dr. Samuel Ubuku and Mr Chiedu Ebie in bad light simply because your selfish and parochial interests are not accommodated in the grand scheme of affairs at the Commission.
“For the records, those parading themselves as members of civil society organisations in the region and ex-agitators are ignorant of the challenges of the region and do not represent the true spirit of the Niger Delta. They’re an obscure bunch who are out to profit from the resources of the region without a genuine concern for its people.
“As true representatives of our people, we make bold to say that Dr. Samuel Ubuku remains the best NDDC Managing Director to have emerged since the creation of the Commission. He has carried everybody along in appointments and the distribution of projects. Anybody who feels otherwise is a saboteur and shouldn’t be taken seriously.
“It is also laughable that someone in their right thinking will question the appointment of a bona fide Niger Deltan into a Commision set up for the development of the region simply because the appointee does not come from a community that produces crude oil.
“This warped thinking doesn’t belong to the human specie and should be disregarded. Those who only seek to divide using parochial yardsticks and sentiments should not be dignified with a response. We, therefore, distance ourselves from such persons and want Nigerians to pay deaf ears to their rants”, the release stated.
The youth group finally vowed to resist attempt by sponsored goons to throw the region into needless crisis and pledged to mobilise their members across all the states that make up the region to stage a solidarity match for the NDDC management on the same day those opposed to the development of the region are planning their protest.
“As patriots and law abiding citizens who are desirous to see mass development in the Niger Delta region, we cannot fold our arms and watch a faceless few throw our region into crisis. We shall therefore mobilise in en masse to stage a solidarity match on the 27th of February to counter our enemies and tell the world the truth about our region”, the release concluded.
