Arewa Think Tank Faults Niger Delta Group On Planned Protest

A northern group under the auspices of Arewa Think Tank (ATTAK) has tackled a Niger Delta group, Coalition of Oil Producing States/Ex-agitators in Niger Delta, over planned mass protest against the chief executive officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Engr Gbenga Komolafe over allegation of shady deals at the commission.

The Arewa Think Tank said the planned protest was ill-timed and does not intend to encourage citizens to be patient with the ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration at its early stage of governance.

In a statement after its emergency meeting in Kaduna, the convener of Arewa Think Tank, Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu, who is also a chieftain of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), on behalf of its members, noted that the threat of mass protest by the Niger Delta group could generate severe unrest across the country, which according to him is not good for the nation’s democracy.

Yakubu however warned that no region has the monopoly of violence, adding that the Niger Delta group should rather toe the path of peace and guide their grievances in accordance with the rules and laws of the land.

The Arewa group expressed worry over what the Coalition of Ex-Agitators from Niger Delta region actually wanted at a time the government of President Tinubu has done almost everything for them.

“The Niger Delta region under President Tinubu has produced the Senate President, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), one of the most juicy ministries in the country.

“The region is also blessed with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) With their own son overseeing the affairs of the commission for the rapid development of the region.

“We want to point out to this coalition that the era of one section of Nigeria claiming to be feeding the whole country is gone, thanks to the blue economy introduced by President Tinubu to boost economic values of our waterways across the country under the newly appointed Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola.

“It is our candid submission that the Coalition of Oil Producing States/Ex-agitators in Niger Delta should put a stop to their planned protest in order to allow every segment of development under this government to remain focused in delivering dividends of democracy to all Nigerians irrespective of ethno-religious and regional differences,” the statement read.

The Arewa Think Tank had stumbled on a letter by the Coalition of Oil Producing States/Ex-agitators in Niger Delta jointly signed by its coordinator, Comrade Vincent Omoko, and the Secretary, Hon Afe Samson.

Part of the letter said that there would be “Mass protest and legitimate actions against the chief executive officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Engr Gbenga Komolafe by the Niger Delta people.

“The primary obligation of the coalition is to checkmate illegal operations of individuals and corporate establishments in our region, protect our people against all forms of exploitations and above all, to ensure accountability by government and its agencies.

“We wish therefore to hereby inform you of our planned word press conference involving local and international traditional and social media platforms and a massive protest at the NNPC Towers and other locations within the Federal Capital Territory by hundreds of our members from the Niger Delta region.

“The planned world press conference and mass protest as indicated above will be conducted sequentially on Monday, August 28, 2023 and will be followed by other outlined actions within the ambit of due and legitimate processes in their execution.

“Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission under the supervision Engr Gbenga Komolafe engaged in several secret deals running into over N175 billion involving the allocation of oil wells in the region.

“Engr Komolafe should publicly account for the over N175 billion released from the sales and other deals secretly conducted with oil wells in the Niger Delta.”