By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The barricading of the Ikot Abasi-Port Harcourt portion of the East-West road by youths from Akwa-Ibom State has not gone down well with the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Eastern Zone Task Force.
A statement signed by an executive of the task force, Mr Tonye Ibanichuka, said the action of the youths was mainly to attract the attention of President Muhammadu Buhari for the replacement of an executive director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr Ibanga Etang, who died recently.
It was gathered that the youths under the umbrella of The Concerned Youths of Akwa Ibom, numbering over 1,000, barricaded the road, thereby disrupting free flow of traffic in and out of Rivers State.
Reacting to the incident, the Ijaw group said it sees “this as an insult to the Ijaws and good people of Rivers State. There was never a zoning arrangement for the IMC.
“You may recall that Dr Joy Nunueh, a Rivers State indigene, was replaced with someone from Bayelsa State. When that happened, no one called for any zoning pattern.
“The IMC, even though it is not known to the law, is a temporary body with a clear mandate. Nobody should bring politics into their existence,” IYC said in the statement made available to Business Post.
The group further said in the statement that, “One thing our brothers fail to realize is that the NDDC is a direct benefit of the agitation of Ijaw sons and daughters.
“Our brothers died, our sisters were raped all to fight for the benefit of the Niger Delta. No one from Akwa Ibom State took part in the agitation.
“Coming out now to claim right over any position is not just an insult to the Ijaws, but a slap to our brothers and sisters who died during the struggle.”
“We remain calm because we know the move by these youths has a political undertone and was definitely sponsored by someone who is eying the position. But we want to use this medium to warn anyone who may try to attempt any such protest again.
“Anyone who claims any right over a position, produced by the Ijaw struggle would face our wrath. If such a protest is repeated, we will not only rise up and remind the country that we Ijaws stand for equity and truth; we will deal decisively with anyone who challenges our resolve,” it added.
“We call on Mr President to disregard those hungry youths and choose a competent hand to replace the late EDFA. The Ijaws have a better right over any position in the NDDC but we leave the decision to Mr President and the supervising minister,” the group concluded.
Adedapo Adesanya