By Oluwayemi Davidson, Warri
A sociopolitical organization in Delta State, the Itsekiri Liberation Group on Saturday joined force with the protesting Ijaws youths in the area as it gave the Federal Government a 14-day ultimatum within which to appoint and inaugurate a substantive Board for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), failure of which it threatened to seal the NDDC offices in Delta and Edo States and as well shutdown all oil installations in the areas.
This was contained in a statement signed by the group’s Chairman and Secretary, Comrades Mone Orisan and Ajofortan Omagbemi respectively, copies of which were made available to journalists in Warri.
The Itsekiri group stoutly decried the appointment by the Federal Government of an Interim Management Board and later Sole Administrator for NDDC saying that “the action negates the law establishing the NDDC in the year 2000 and the attendant effects on the Niger Delta people (especially the Itsekiris that produce over 22 percent of the oil produced in Nigeria”.
Recall that the Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide last Wednesday embarked on a peaceful protest shutting down the Warri office of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), as they kicked against the Federal Government’s failure to inaugurate a substantive board for the interventionist agency.
The protest by the Ijaw youths was coming up at the expiration of an ultimatum earlier given the Government by the IYC Worldwide.
The Itsekiri group in their statement declared, “We will no longer tolerate the Federal Government and Minister of Niger Delta’s flimsy excuse of conducting Forensic Audit because it is clear that the forensic audit is a charade and a deliberate attempt to stay glued to power and further impoverish our people in oil and gas producing communities in the Niger-Delta.
“Therefore, we will not condole any deliberate act to control the resources in our land without following laid down laws backing the establishment of NDDC.
“Consequently, we hereby give full support to the IYC on the current protest, as we mobilize all our members and the Itsekiri Nation to seal off NDDC office and other critical oil facility within the state until the Federal Government of Nigeria meet with the following demands:
“For the Federal government to immediately dissolve the Sole Administrator managing the affairs of the NDDC, because it is skewed to favour only a few cabal as against the general interests benefits and representation of various states that ought to constitute the Board.
“The Federal government should with immediate effect appoint, confirm and Inaugurate a substantive Board for the NDDC within 14 days.
“The Federal government should Include all projects in Itsekiri area such as Koko -Ogheye Road , Omadino-Excravos (Ugborodo) , Jakpa to Ogheye to Ugbege road , Rural Electrification project from Koko to Benin River in Warri North, Koko shoreline protection etc in the NDDC budget and all projects should be properly funded and executed in line with global engineering standards. We will vehemently resist abandoned projects.
“The Federal government should immediately include Itsekiris in the recently concluded recruitment of over 300 staff in NDDC. Any exclusion of our people in the recruitment of staff in NDDC will be resisted because by virtue of our production quantum of oil and gas, we are major stakeholders in the region and Nigeria at large.”
“Itsekiri sons and daughters must be included in NDDC skill acquisition and empowerment programs. We were shocked to see NDDC engage over 200 indigenous people of the Niger Delta without a single Itsekiri man or woman, this is the gross neglect of the Itsekiri people”.
The Itsekiri group stated further that their sons and daughters should be considered for the position of the Managing Director and executive positions “because since over the past 20 years that the Commission was created, Itsekiris who produce 22.8 % of the National oil and gas has not been considered for either the MD or executive position”.
“We won’t take it anymore. We call on all our members and Itsekiri nation to resist this act of wickedness done by the Federal Government”, the group posited.
It then declared, “We will not be peaceful anymore because it appears our peaceful disposition is being taken for granted. If these demands are not met, we shall decimate all oil and gas installations in our areas, seal up the NDDC Office and ensure the nation’s economy is completely grounded till our demands are met”.
The Itsekiri group noted with concern that over the years, the Federal Government has been “taking the peaceful and law abiding disposition of the Itsekiri people for granted” adding that “in the recent past, the Federal Government has completely neglected the Itsekiri people in the scheme of things in the Niger-Delta Development Commission (NDDC)”.
It insisted that all NDDC projects within Itsekiri domain must be fully funded by the Federal Government.