Odahiekwu Ogunde, Yenagoa
Ijaw Youths Council Worldwide and the Movement for the Survival of Izon Ethnic Nationality in the Niger Delta have come under attack for allegedly mounting a campaign of calumny against Senator Godswill Akpabio and the Niger Delta Development Commission.
An advocacy group, The 21st Century Youths of Niger Delta and Agitators with Conscience (21st CYNDAC), while condemning the IYC and MOSIEND, said they were allegedly being sponsored by some “unpatriotic and unscrupulous elements” to intimidate and blackmail Akpabio and the NDDC for their selfish interest.
The 21st CYNDAC in a statement on Friday by its Coordinator, Izon Ebi, said Akpabio, who is the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs with supervisory power over the NDDC had achieved resounding success in his efforts to reposition and revamp the commission.
The group flayed the IYC, in particular, for its alleged planned “sponsored” protest to shut down the NDDC headquarters, saying the action is unthinkable, ill-advised and counter-productive.
The group said: “The IYC is a respected organisation of Ijaw youths, formed to champion essential and pressing issues of the Ijaw nation in particular and Niger Delta in general.
“We advise that the IYC must not be hijacked by few selfish and criminally-minded individuals to portray the revered organisation and our region in a bad light because of their greedy and selfish desire to make quick money by all means.
“The IYC and MOSIEND are not the only youth organisations in the Niger Delta region, therefore they should not be seen to be doing things according to their sponsors’ bidding to set the Niger Delta ablaze.
“The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Godswill Akpabio is a man of integrity with proven track records of capacity and development. He is determined to replicate the same feat in the entire Niger Delta as the MNDA minister.”
The group claimed that under Akpabio’s watch, the people had seen his achievements ranging from the stoppage of $1 billion consultancy fees to the inauguration of the headquarters of the NDDC in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The 21st CYNDAC, therefore, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to ignore the antics of the enemies of development to stop the conclusion and publication of the forensic audit instituted by Mr President.
It equally called on all well-meaning youths of the Niger Delta to be calm and support Akpabio because he means well for the people of the region.