Leaders and stakeholders of the nine states in the Niger Delta region, have distanced the region from the planned nationwide protest tagged #Endbadgovernance scheduled to hold from August 1-10, 2024.
The stakeholders decided not to be part of the planned protest during a one-day Niger Delta sensitization conference for ethnic nationalities, women and youths, which was organised by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) on Tuesday, in Port Harcourt.
They described the organisers of the protest as “faceless”, emphasizing that the organisers have no interest of Niger Delta in their plans.
According to the Niger Delta leaders, the August 1 nationwide protest is targeted at President Bola Tinubu and Senator President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, to create an ungovernable environment for the military to take over.
The stakeholders advised their youths that any act that would make Niger Delta region to lose their 13 per cent oil derivation, which the region had been clamouring for would be detrimental to the people.
While addressing the gathering, the President of Senator, Godswill Akpabio, commended the Niger Delta leaders for dissociating themselves from the proposed nationwide protest.
He advised the youths not to take the resolution for granted because some persons might take advantage of the demonstration to foment trouble and vandalize people’s property.
Akpabio, said the people of the Niger Delta region have resolved not to participate in the planned nationwide protest, as none of the demands of the protesters is for the good of the people of the region.
“The Niger Delta region was involved in an imbroglio and President Yar’adua came and settled the issue. Today, the Niger Delta is peaceful. I want to start from the speech of the President of Ijaw Youth Council, Jonathan Lokpobiri.
“He said he took a look at the demands of those wishing to protest and there is nothing inside that talks about the Niger Delta region. The East-West road was not there, the Calabar -Itu-Odukpani road, which is no longer passable is not there, the construction of the 13-kilometre Ogoni -Calabar road was not there.
“We have not been able to address environmental degradation caused by oil exploitation and exploration. Nobody outside Niger Delta sees that as a problem. So, I was happy when I started seeing Niger Delta youths, South-East youths speaking out that they are not part of the protest; since the protest involves change of government, our hands are not in”, the Senate President states.
He advised Nigerian youths not to copy things happening in other countries, especially Kenya, to cause chaos in their country appealing to aggrieved youths to consider the humane disposition of President Tinubu and shelve the planned protest saying that Nigeria was “living on life-support” before the emergence of Tinubu as president.
In his remarks, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, thanked Niger Delta youths and stakeholders for beginning to show the power of peace and unity amongst themselves.
Kalu said: “I want to thank Niger Delta youths and stakeholders for begining to show his power of unity and power of peace. There is nothing to as beautiful as participatory democracy. It is only when unity and peace are in place that progress will come.
In his own speech, NDDC managing director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, said the people of the region now believe in intellectual struggle and not street struggle or protests.
Ogbuku said: “We believe that the struggle has gravitated from street struggle, street protests to intellectual struggle and because they believe in the intellectual struggle part of the Niger Delta struggle, that is why we are here under this roof.
“The Niger Delta former agitators are here because they don’t want to be on the street. They have been on the street for so many years. And all the years that they had been on the street, it has brought joy and sorrow to the Niger Delta people.”
Speaking at the event, National Chairman of Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Emmanuel Ibok Essien, said if Niger Delta were to protest, it would be on issues that would address their needs.
PANDEF Emmanuel Essien said the organisers of the proposed protest were unknown faces, stressing that it is not in the interest of Niger Delta region.
He said: “It is unknown faces that are planning for the August 1 nationwide protest. I want you to know that when the Niger Delta people protested in 1999 for the passage of NDDC Bill, other Nigerians did not join us.
“In 2005, at the National Political Reforms Conference, when we protested, as Niger Delta people, for 25 percent derivation amount to be paid to the Niger Delta, other Nigerians did not join us to protest.
“There are many protests that we have done in Niger Delta, the East West Road, other Nigerians did not join us. So, why should we join in a protest at this point in time, when we are having a president from the southern part of Nigeria and he is trying to put Nigeria on the rightful part?
“Why should we protest when we have the Number Three man in this country from Niger Delta? Why should we protest? Nobody knows the end of any protest. It may happen, but God forbids, that this protest may lead to change of government in a military coup, and the constitution of Nigeria is suspended, it would tell on the Niger Delta people because the 13 percent we have been having would be taken away from us. We knew how we fought to get the 13 percent.”
Also, President of Ijaw Youth Council (Worldwide) Jonathan Lokpobiri, noted that hardship Nigerians have been passing, stating that the Niger Delta youths would not take part in the demonstration.
Lokpobiri declared: “As people of a blessed region, we have a sworn duty to protect our region. When the issue of this protest was mentioned, a few questions came into my mind and I asked: ‘Is the East West Road part of the demand of this protest? The answer was no. The devastated Niger Delta is not part of the protest.”
He warned that the planned protest is a “recipe for chaos”, adding that the challenges of Niger Delta were peculiar to the region.
He declared: “But, today, protest organized by not well known leaders to pull the people together for negotiations with government is a recipe for chaos. Nigerians today, cannot afford a chaos situation for Nigeria.”
The conference was attended by leading socio-cultural and pressure groups in the region, including the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), the Concerned Niger Delta Women Coalition (CNDWC) and the Urhobo Youth Council.
NIGERIAN TRIBUNE