Rivers APC CTC Chairman warns of possible hijack of protest by hoodlums

Few hours to the planned nationwide, #EndBadGovernanceinNigeria protest, the caretaker committee chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Tony Okocha, has called on youths in the state to shun the protest, warning that the protest may be hijacked by bad elements.

Okocha said that while people have the constitutional right to protest, hoodlums may hijack the process, which may lead to looting and loss of lives and property.

He assured that President Bola Tinubu means well for Nigerians and needs more time to fix things.

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Okocha, who is also the Rivers State representative at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Board, made the call while inspecting NDDC-sponsored ongoing projects in five different local government areas of the state.

He said: “The projects you see today are part of the renewed hope of President Bola Tinubu. He deserves some more time to bring what he has in his offing. So we use this opportunity to plead with our people who are somewhat misled to believe that protest or any of such things can be a solution to the problems of Nigeria. The president is not the architect of the poverty that Nigerians are experiencing right now. The President is trying to bring good policies to Nigerians.”

He explained that various projects by NDDC are scattered across communities of the state by the directive of the President because he means well for the people.

He also assured that under the 7th Board of the NDDC led by Mr. Chiedu Ebie and the Managing Director, Samuel Ogbuku, no contractor will be owed and commended them for demonstrating commitment to project execution.

Responding, some of the community stakeholders thanked Okocha and the NDDC for bringing succour to their communities.

A stakeholder in the Soku community, Dr. Otiasah Christian, said there have been several cases of cholera outbreaks in the community that led to loss of lives as a result of lack of potable water and expressed thanks for the provision of water.

Also, the Community Development Committee (CDC) Chairman of Umuchem Community, Mr. ThankGod Agbam, said the project is the first of its kind in the community despite being a host community that has suffered several oil spills.