IJAW YOUTHS PROTESTS AGAINST CONTENT BOARD, SAYS I.O.Cs WOULD BE NEXT.

• Rejects setting up of branch offices in Lagos and Abuja against the local content act.

Chanting war Songs and invoking the spirit of it's fallen heroes, the chairman of the Ijaw Youths council in central zone, Barr. Tare Porri, led hundreds of Ijaw youths, carrying placards with inscriptions  " bring back local content to our people" " Lagos, Abuja not oil producing states" storming the secretariat of the Nigeria content and Development Board (NCDMB), accusing the board of flaunting the local content act by establishing branch offices in Lagos and Abuja were major administration decisions are now taken.

The Youths forcefully gained access into the building, demanding to meet with the Executive Secretary, Engr. Simbi Wabote.

Porri who spoke, demanded the cancellation of the Lagos and Abuja offices, accusing the board of plans to systematically relocate the board to Lagos.

Porri, a renowned lawyer and activist, while reading from the local content act, quoted Section 71, subparagraph 4 of the local content act, which state as follows, " the head office of the council and the board shall be located in any of the oil and gas producing states in the federation".

Porri therefore questioned the board, where they derived powers to situate branch offices in Lagos and Abuja, which are not part of the oil Producing state " if there was no interior motif", he said.

The Bayelsa State Police commissioner, Mr. Asuquo Amba, was also on ground to calm the frayed nerves, he assured the protesters that the Executive secretary had heard their demands and would act accordingly.

" he has given me assurance that all the issues raised will be addressed in such a way that we would have the peaceful environment we have been having, so that we can have more economic progress", the commissioner said.

Porri further warned all multinationals operating in the region to heed to the call of relocating to their host communities, threatening to give them same treatment.

" in the next few months, if the multinationals companies, the I.O.C's, fails or refuse or neglect, to listen to our modest demands by relocating their headquarters to the zone, ijaw people will waste no time in invading any multinational company in this region", porri added.