Ignore selfish leaders, protest must hold in Niger Delta — CSO

A leading civil society organisation in the Niger Delta, Niger Delta Volunteers for Good Governance (NDVFGG), has insisted that the planned protest against hardship in Nigeria must take place in the region.

NDVFGG’s position is against the backdrop of calls by many stakeholders in the region to shelve the planned protest, particularly in the Niger Delta region of the country.

Speaking to our correspondent on the planned protest and the calls by the stakeholders, president of the group, Comrade Ben Bowei, aka Lord Major 1 of the Niger Delta, said those who called to shelve the protest in the region did so for their own selfish interests.

According to him, being someone who has been in the Niger Delta struggle for years and a promoter of good governance, he can’t help but mobilise his over 2,000 members across the Niger Delta region to occupy major streets, including the East-West Road, in the protest.

The former National Treasurer of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) said that he feels bad seeing individuals putting their personal interests above the suffering of the region.

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The Ijaw Chief from the Furupagha clan fumed: “What are we even saying! That Niger Delta people, particularly the youths, should not join in the planned protest against hardship? When we have hunger everywhere? When hunger is written on the faces of our people? That is not possible!

“Those who made the call did it for their own selfish interests. I am aware some of them collected money to speak against the proposed protest, but we at NDVFGG have already mobilised our men to occupy the streets in the region. We can’t continue this way.

“We have mobilised our members, over two thousand across the Niger Delta, to that effect. We must protest! We are for the betterment of our people, and we must insist on good governance.

“And for the interventionist agencies set up to better the well-being of the people of Niger Delta but have failed us, we are coming for them too. They are part of the bad governance. We are going to occupy their offices and demand an end to people in the helms of affairs. Interventionist agencies such as the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, have failed us woefully. This is part of the bad governance we are talking about. We are not going to take it lightly with the NDDC, these days ahead in the protest.”