By: Felix Ikpotor
Youths from the oil-rich Niger Delta region has thrown their weight behind President Mohammadu Buhari over his executive order for a forensic audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
This is even as they have vowed to shutdown activities in the region if the minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio is forced out by some powerful forces.
The youths under the aegis of Niger Delta Youths Leaders Administrative Council (NDYLAC) came out with this while briefing newsmen Tuesday, in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
President of the group, Prince Emeka Uzoka said they are happy with the order as it will create an NDDC that will give equal opportunity to everybody to benefit from the region’s wealth.
He said: “In view of the above, we, the youths of the Niger Delta region under the aegis of NDYLAC and other youth associations here present with over two million members cut across the NDDC catchment states, hereby pass a vote of confidence on President Mohammadu Buhari for considering the overall interest of the Niger Delta region in his Next Level Agenda”.
The youths added: “We want to assure Mr. President and the Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio of our unwavering support in any action whatsoever that would be taken to make the Niger Delta a better place to live and do business.”
Furthermore, NDYLAC said, “we now have the opportunity of having an NDDC, by virtue of the Presidential Order, that will give equal opportunity to the son of a nobody to become somebody not because he knows anybody. We are set to see an NDDC that would encourage equality of development in the far flung oil-bearing communities that were hitherto bereft of infrastructure and meaningful livelihood. We are poised to see a new NDDC that will open up the forest and lay a passable and durable road through. We are just about to see a reformed, repositioned and focused NDDC that will lighten up the dark creeks, fix pipe borne water in the marshy communities, build schools and hospitals in the long forgotten hamlets, for the good of mankind,” the group said.
NDYLAC said the commission has fallen short of its mandate many years after it was created.
Commenting on the threat by some groups to carryout a protest to force Akpabio out of office, the youths said if anything of such happens they will mobilize their members in all the Niger Delta states to shutdown business activities in the region.
“We want to reiterate at this point that the Niger Delta youths will not tolerate the mischievous moves to impress on the President to sack or replace Senator Akpabio with mother of all protests. We will not hesitate to shut down the region and truncate business flow,” NDYLAC said.
The group added: “ we call on every stakeholder to support the cleansing of the NDDC and allow the Minister to carry out the task he is saddled with with all diligence”.
