There was pandemonium Tuesday morning at the office of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) in Port-Harcourt as two youth groups clashed, prompting security men attached to the complex to disperse them with tear gas and gunfire.
It was learnt that members of the Ogoni Youth Federation, OYF, and the Ogoni Youth Development Initiative, OYDI, clashed while protesting against and for the interventionist agency.
Legborsi Yamaabana who is the President-General of Ogoni Youth Federation staged a protest at the Port-Harcourt office of HYPREP, which was opposed by the Ogoni Youth Development Initiative OYDI led by Comrade Saviour Oscar Imeabe.
As the situation became chaotic, security agencies stationed at the HYPREP premises intervened and dispersed the protesters with teargas and sporadic gunfire.
Earlier, Dae Steven Deegbara, the convener of Ogoni Environment Watch had accused Legborsi of greed and selfishness.
In a statement he signed, Deegbara said: “The public should be aware that the intent behind the perpetual youth leader’s plan to protest is selfish, anti-people, and not in the interests of the growth of Ogoni.”
“It is a business strategy sponsored to derail the laudable livelihood training programmes and other aspects of the Ogoni clean-up projects currently being implemented by the Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey project coordination office.”
He further explained that Yamaabana’s reason for the protest is because his organisation didn’t get the contract he bid for.
“Yamana’s main reason for planning a protest is because his proposal to HYPREP using a proxy NGO to request a Sixty-Eight Million, Two Hundred And Sixty Thousand Naira under the pretext of embarking on a pseudo-Sensitisation Campaign Against Artisanal Refining And Crude Oil Theft in Ogoniland was rejected for failing to meet standard procurement processes.”
On his part, leader of the Ogoni Youth Development Initiative, OYDI, Comrade Saviour Imeabe accused Yamaabana of being sponsored by enemies of Ogoni so that he could distract the leadership of HYPREP under Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey.
He further accused him of always protesting to pull down Ogonis in HYPREP from the days of Marvin Dekil and Ferdinand Giadom, and vowed to resist any attempt to truncate the tenure of the current leadership of HYPREP, which he said is working tirelessly to make Ogoniland clean and habitable.
However, normalcy has returned to the area.
