ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, YENAGOA
A militant group, the 21st Century Youths of the Niger Delta and Agitators with Conscience (21st CYNDAC), has called on President Muhammadu Buhari not to succumb to the cheap blackmail and propaganda by Ijaw youths.
The group in a statement on Saturday by its Coordinator, Izon Ebi, said the call was against the backdrop of the protest by Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) over the yet-to-be-constituted board for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as well as call for the removal of the Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio.
The 21st CYNDAC claimed that the present leadership of the IYC did not represent the wishes and aspirations of the people of the region.
It alleged that the protesters’ agenda was to stop the conclusion of the forensic audit of the NDDC in a bid to set free some leaders that had looted and mismanaged huge sums of money meant for the development of the region.
It said: “The IYC national leadership has been divided into two parts with contrary and conflicting directives. Because of the way the present leadership of the council has brazenly displayed their disunity outside, some responsible youths who ought to be in the protest have withdrawn.
“While we are not against the protest, the idea of organising this magnitude of protest only for the reason of substantive NDDC board is what we are still struggling to comprehend. Or is the relocation of IOCs no longer important? What about the alleged failure in the amnesty programme and the employment quota?
“We are always being sidelined by the Federal Character Commission. Is the substantive board for the NDDC the only problem we have? It is high time we looked inwards, put our house in order and come out with a formidable front.
“However, the blatant lie of kidnapping the IYC president told the Ijaw people is the biggest ridicule the IYC has ever gone through and we want to say that any IYC president that is kidnapped is not fit to lead us and should be removed from the IYC.”
The 21st CYNDAC advised the IYC to stop the show of shame that had further ridiculed the revered name of the IYC, alleging that the IYC was not known for inflicting pains on innocent travelers and stopping the government’s noble intentions for the region.
The group noted: “This show of shame must stop because it clearly shows that the guilty and those that feel they own the NDDC are fighting back to stop the findings and conclusion of the forensic audit.
“We are not going to allow it to happen because nobody is more Niger Deltan than the others. The game is up and we advise the security agents to rise to the occasion and not allow it snowball into another crisis that will cause more problems for the government and the region.
“Niger Delta people and the governors in the region endorsed the forensic audit of the NDDC. What is happening now does not represent the ideals of the founding fathers of the IYC because Ijaw means truth and we must always stand by the truth.
“The present primitive actions and blatant lie of kidnapping and commercialisation of the struggle by the IYC is regrettable and unfortunate. We therefore ask IYC president to step aside because he does not have the capacity to lead the vibrant, intelligent and fearless youths of the Ijaw nation. Period.”