IJAW STUDENTS SET TO PROTEST AGAINST NDDC, DECRIES NEGLECTION, SAYS MR. EKERE IS HEADING A CORRUPT COMMISSION.

The leadership of the National union of Izon-ibe students (NUIS) Worldwide, High Priest Bodmas P. Kemepadei, has described the current leadership of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, as being made up of persons who do not mean well and with no agenda for the welfare of students in the Niger Delta, while also calling on all Ijaw students to gear up as they prepare to storm the commission in a peaceful protest to express their displeasure.

Bodmas, who doubles as the union's Director of socials and coordinator of Ijaw students in central Ijaw (Bayelsa), was reacting to calls by Ijaw students to dissolve the current board and reconstitute another, as they ALLEGED that the board which has Mr. Nsima Ekere as Managing Director, was deliberately excluding student's from benefiting in the numerous programs of the commission.

The Ijaw students leader noted that the NDDC management cannot pretend not to be aware of the fact that students of the region are going through difficult times, as most are now becoming school drop-outs, due to lack of funds to continue their education. He also stated that the Ijaw ethnic nation occupies the number one position in oil production/bearing nationally, yet it's upcoming leaders are deliberately neglected.

“Thus, for such critical group to be excluded in it's programs is not only preposterous, but a clear display of highhandedness with the sole purpose of continuing to underdevelop Ijaw people and later tag them with derogatory terms like Militants, pipeline vandals, rascals, thereby accusing us of being our own Enemy, no problems, soon we shall converged and storm the commission to lodge our displeasure, for me it's obvious that the leadership is acting the script of a particular individual in Buhari's cabinet” he said.

Bodmas called on the Buhari led administration to as a matter of urgency investigate dealings in the leadership of the commission and also dissolve the cabal who sits in the position of dictating leaders who will emerge as leadership of the commission, which has been the sole reason for the failure of the commission to discharge it's statutory function of developing the people of the rich region.

Bodmas added that the current commission has become a place where a few people amass wealth for themselves in the guise of carrying out projects for Niger Delta people, whereby the same individuals (i.e. members of the NDDC Board) “ they take possession of funds allocated to the commission for Projects by the Federal Government and oil companies and at the same time award contracts and effect payments to themselves, we are all aware of how Xmas packages meant for NGO'S and youths bodies were all diverted, Bayelsa is a typical case, no youths body or NGO received a dime, indeed the commission is now a place for self-aggrandisement, privatisation of state resources, an institution where corruption breeds, nepotism and visionless leadership.” he concluded.

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