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•Action ill-motivated –Ex-militant leader, Osaanya
The Niger Delta Peace Advocates (NDPA), a pan-Niger Delta group set up for peace and progress of the region, has warned those planning to foment trouble and cause a breakdown of peace in the region to desist or face the consequences.
The group’s warning is coming on the heels of alleged plan by some Niger Delta agitators to organise a protest against the leadership of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
In a statement signed by Ebianga Imomotomi, president, the group said some disgruntled elements in Warri, who have no legitimacy and capacity to mobilize as well as no genuine interest in the welfare of Niger Delta people, want to “cause unrest and extort money from unsuspecting individuals and institutions.”
The NDPA said that it had worked alongside well-meaning organizations and stakeholders to secure the peace being enjoyed in the Niger Delta and would not allow “these fraudulent actors and their baseless claims.”
Stating that those trying to foment trouble are not recognized by any credible Niger Delta organization, the group said that the purported protest they are planning lacks the support of true stakeholders.
Pointey warning the agitators and sponsors, NDPA said: “Any attempt to take to the streets to foment trouble will be met with decisive action.
“The Niger Delta Peace Advocates stands firmly with security agencies in ensuring that peace is not compromised. We caution these elements to abandon their plans immediately, as any disruption of public order will attract the full weight of the law.”
The group advised parents and guardians to warn their wards “not to be lured into becoming tools for these fraudulent actors. The Niger Delta has moved past the era of blackmail, intimidation, and fake activism.”
It expressed support for progress and development in the Niger Delta, stating: “The recent attacks on the leadership of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), particularly the Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, are nothing but the desperate efforts of individuals who have lost relevance.
“Dr. Ogbuku enjoys the support of true civil society groups, ex-agitators, and community leaders who are committed to development, not chaos. Under his leadership, the NDDC has aligned with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, bringing sustainable progress to our people.”
NDPA reaffirmed its support for stability, good governance, and constructive engagement in the Niger Felta region, warning: “Those who seek to disrupt our peace must desist immediately, or face the consequences of their actions.”
In a related development, former
militant leader, Osaanya B. Osaanya, expressed concern that the ongoing feud orchestrated by some faceless individuals against the Commission boss, Dr. Ogbuku, has the potential of derailing the development plans of the Federal Government’s interventionist agency for the region.
Urging those engaging in ethno-political sentiments by prompting a core Ijaw agenda to sheathe their swords and embrace peace for the Ogbuku-led commission to effectively implement the core mandate of holistic development of the region, the former agitator warned against escalation should the perpetrators continue in their sponsored blackmail.
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Osaanya pointed out that the promoters of the core Ijaw agenda, especially in Bayelsa State, were not happy that Ogbuku, whom they described as not being a core Ijaw, from Ogbia LGA, was named by President Bola Tinubu, to manage the commission.
He noted that the anger of such enemies of Bayelsa and the Niger Delta stemmed from the fact that Ogbuku was passionately delivering Mr. President’s Renewed Hope Agenda beyond expectations.
Osaanya, in a statement, said the sponsors were wondering why an individual from former President Goodluck Jonathan’s local government would be given such a juicy appointment ahead of others from core Ijaw councils.
He said: “This parochial and primitive mentality has kept Bayelsa redundant in terms of development. The core Ijaw promoters have been pushing the evil and anti-social agenda that some persons born in certain local government areas are the real Ijaw while others in different local government areas in the same state are less Ijaw.
“The promoters of the so-called core Ijaw want to dominate and lord it over others who they consider non-core Ijaw from the same state. This backward thinking is what they brought into the NDDC, and that is why they are sponsoring campaigns of calumny to pull down the Managing Director of the commission, Dr. Ogbuku.
“They are even angrier that Ogbuku has won the admiration of the President through his performance.”
He, therefore, appealed to those behind such an indecent anti-Niger Delta development agenda, to have a rethink, stressing that any attempt to truncate the current leadership of the NDDC would have far-reaching negative implementations for the region.
According to him, Ogbuku and the current board have repositioned the NDDC, making it an all-inclusive interventionist agency with its unique stakeholders’ engagements.
“Ogbuku’s leadership has reawakened the dead beliefs and trust in the commission by the people of the region, especially with serious attention paid to infrastructural development, empowerment and human capital development.
“Youths, men, women, traditional rulers and all stakeholders, apart from a few enemies of the region, are happy that for the first time, the current leadership of the commission was able to complete many abandoned landmark projects, initiate and complete new ones within a short period.
“Let the evil core Ijaw promoters in Bayelsa and others, who consider Ogbuku a threat to their governorship ambitions in Bayelsa, leave the NDDC boss alone to focus on his job.
“Almost all the stakeholders in the region are happy with Ogbuku, and President Tinubu is also happy with his performance in the region.
“The interests of a few greedy and self centered individuals cannot override public interest and the general well-being of the Niger Delta,” he maintained.
