Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has met with leaders of the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, to address growing concerns over a planned protest by some aggrieved Ijaw youths against the Commission’s leadership.
This is as a factional President of the IYC, Dr. Alaye Theophilus, had called for a protest against NDDC intended to express dissatisfaction with the NDDC’s management, which the group criticized for selective and unsatisfactory activities.
The meeting, which took place at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, was aimed to ease tensions and reaffirm the Commission’s dedication to the region’s development.
NDDC Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, represented by Executive Director of Projects, Sir Victor Antai, assured IYC leaders that the Commission remains focused on its mandate to drive sustainable development in the Niger Delta, despite the recent calls for protests.
Ogbuku emphasized that the NDDC would not be distracted from its mission to transition from “transaction to transformation,” with ongoing youth empowerment programs and completion of legacy projects across the region.
Earlier, the Deputy National President of the Ijaw Youth Council, Comrade Atigbi Freedom, apologized to the NDDC over calls for protests against the Commission, by a faction within the IYC, led by Mr. Theophilus Alaye.
Freedom wondered why any Niger Delta youth would want to protest against the NDDC under Dr Samuel Ogbuku as Managing Director, describing Ogbuku as “a man who has shown and demonstrated a clear commitment to redefining the NDDC for the betterment of the people.”
The IYC leadership clarified that Alaye’s protest was not representative of the Ijaw Youth Council as a whole, reaffirming their solidarity with the NDDC and warning against attempts to mislead the public.
They emphasized that the IYC, under the leadership of President Jonathan Lokpobiri, remains committed to peace and development in the Niger Delta.
He said, “As a council, while we will continue to advocate for the growth, advancement, unity, and progress of the Ijaw nation and the Niger Delta at large, the Council will not sit idly by and watch as people try to trample on the hard-earned peace that we have collectively fought to achieve.
“We are responding to correct the wrong impression created by Alaye before the public that the IYC is at war with the NDDC. If not corrected, this misleading information might be seen as the truth. The IYC, as one united family, is solely under the leadership of Sir Jonathan Lokpobiri as President.”
