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From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
A Northern group, Arewa Think Tank (ATTAK), has tackled the planned protest by the Coalition of Oil Producing States/Ex-agitators in Niger Delta. The Niger-Delta group’s protest, is against the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, who it accuses of perpetrating shady deals at the commission.The Arewa Think Tank said the planned protest was ill-timed and does not intend to encourage citizens to be patient with the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration at its early stage of governance.
In a statement after its emergency meeting in Kaduna, the Convener of Arewa Think Tank, Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu, a chieftain of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), noted that the threat of mass protest by the Niger Delta group could generate severe unrest across the country, which according to him is not good for the nation’s democracy.
Yakubu warned that no region has the monopoly of violence, adding that the Niger Delta group should rather toe the path of peace and guide their grievances in accordance with the rules and laws of the land.
“The Niger Delta Region under President Tinubu has produced the Senate President, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), one of the juiciest ministries in the country.
“The region is also blessed with Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), with their own son overseeing the affairs of the commission for the rapid development of the region.
“We want to point out to this coalition that the era of one section of Nigeria claiming to be feeding the whole country is gone, thanks to the blue economy introduced by President Tinubu to boost economic values of our waterways across the country under the newly appointed Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola.”
