…Says conveners of protest never consulted the Niger Delta people
…. There will be no protest on Ijaw Soil—Prof. Okaba
….Don’t allow faceless groups set negative agenda for the region—Lokpobiri
The Ijaw National Congress (INC), the Ijaw Youths Congress (IYC) and Niger Delta youths have resolved not to participate in the proposed nationwide protest scheduled for August 1, 2024.
The decision was made during an interactive engagement with the Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
The interactive engagement had in attendance the President of Ijaw National Congress, INC Prof. Benjamin Okaba, the President of Ijaw Youth Council, IYC Mr. Jonathan Lokpobiri, former President of the Niger Delta Youth Council, Engr. Jator Abido representative of Urhobo Youth Council, the Anioma Youth Council, the Itsekiri Youth Council and other Niger Delta stakeholders.
The Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri in his remarks appealed to the Niger Delta youths to shelve the proposed protest, saying that the challenges bedeviling the country are endemic as they are not peculiar to Nigeria.
Lokpobiri noted that Tinubu who is a democrat and listening President acknowledges the hardship in the country but is working tirelessly to address them, adding that he needs time to come up with practical solutions.
” It is important that I come here today to interact with you and to tell you that we Ijaw people have always been pace setters, Niger Delta people have always been pace setters in this country. There was time that anytime Niger Delta Governors meet the whole country would standstill to know what are they talking about”.
” Today I came here because of what is happening all over the country. There is s faceless group calling for protest across Nigeria and what are the issues, the demand of changing the Constitution of Nigeria and others have nothing to do with the President of Nigeria”.
” But one salient issue they have always raised is that there is hardship in the country and the Mr. President himself acknowledges that there’s hardship in country but this hardship is not peculiar to Nigeria if you go to the United States, Europe if you go to all countries of the world we have global inflation.
” You will also agree with me that protest is not a solution to any problem when #EndSars# came properties were destroyed, people were killed that was not a solution to any problem. When you have a listening President, my own opinion is that let’s have a sustainable engagement when you tell us what you want and you give us time to respond and address those issues.
” The President acknowledges the problems that Nigerians are going through but you must also acknowledge that these problems are not peculiar to Nigeria. Also, please bear with us that you cannot solve problems that are endemic in just one year. We need time to be able to resolve the problems in Nigeria that have been there for years,” the Minister added.
Speaking during the engagement, the Ijaw National Congress INC, Prof. Benjamin Okaba said that the presence of the Minister of Petroleum Resources for the interactive engagement is an indication that President Tinubu is sensitive to the plight of the Ijaw people.
Okaba further said that the Ijaw land would not be used for the protest, saying that Ijaw people have resolved to constructively engagement the federal government to tackle the issues of deprivation, environmental degradation and fairness in the Nigeria project.
Speaking on behalf of the other ethnic youth groups in the Niger Delta, former National Coordinator and President of Niger Delta Youth Council, Worldwide NDYC, Engr. Jator Abido commended the Honorable Minister for the interactive engagement with the youths of the region towards resolving the issues affecting the region and pledged to support the Tinubu’s administration.
On his part, Comrade Ineife Perekosefa, Chairman Ijaw Youth Council, Central Zone thanked the Minister of State Petroleum Resources for deeming it proper for convening the interactive engagement and appealed to federal government to construct the East-West road to ease the hardship the people go through plying the road
The Bayelsa State Coordinator of the #Endbadgovernance# Protest, Comrade Amiebi Turner said he decided to back down from carrying on with the protest after assurances and pleas from the Minister of State Petroleum Resources and other Niger Delta key stakeholders that the reasons for the proposed protest would be resolved and pledged to support the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.