A former militant leader, Osaanya B. Osaanya, has expressed concern that the ongoing antagonism orchestrated by some faceless individuals against the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, has the potential of derailing the development plans of the federal government’s interventionist agency for the South-South region.
Urging those engaging in ethno-political sentiments by prompting a core Ijaw agenda to sheathe their swords and embrace peace for the Ogbuku-led NDDC to effectively implement the core mandate of holistic development of the region, the former agitator warned against escalation should the perpetrators continue in their sponsored blackmail.
Osaanya, a prominent youth leader in the Niger Delta, pointed out that the promoters of the core Ijaw agenda, especially in Bayelsa State, were not happy that Ogbuku, whom they described as not being a core Ijaw from Ogbia LGA, was named by President Bola Tinubu to manage the commission.
He noted that the anger of such enemies of Bayelsa and the Niger Delta stemmed from the fact that Ogbuku was passionately delivering Mr. President’s Renewed Hope Agenda beyond expectations.
Osaanya, in a statement made available to journalists at the weekend, said the sponsors were wondering why an individual from former President Goodluck Jonathan’s local government area of origin would be given such a juicy appointment ahead of others from core Ijaw areas.
He said: “This parochial and primitive mentality has kept Bayelsa redundant in terms of development. The core Ijaw promoters have been pushing the evil and anti-social agenda that some persons born in certain local government areas are the real Ijaw while others in different local government areas in the same state are less Ijaw.
“The promoters of the so-called core Ijaw want to dominate and lord it over others they consider non-core Ijaw from the same state. This backward thinking is what they brought into NDDC, and that is why they are sponsoring campaigns of calumny to pull down the Managing Director of the commission, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku.
“They are even angrier that Dr. Ogbuku has won the admiration of the President through his performance.”
He, therefore, appealed to those behind such indecent anti-Niger Delta development agenda, to have a rethink, stressing that any attempt to truncate the current leadership of the NDDC would have far-reaching negative implementations for the region.
According to him, Ogbuku and the current board have repositioned the NDDC, making it an all-inclusive interventionist agency with its unique stakeholder engagements.
“Ogbuku’s leadership has reawakened the dead beliefs and trust in the commission by the people of the region, especially with serious attention paid to infrastructural development, empowerment and human capital development.
“Youths, men, women, traditional rulers, and all stakeholders, apart from a few enemies of the region, are happy that for the first time, the current leadership of the commission was able to complete many abandoned landmark projects and initiated and completed new ones within a short period.
“Let the evil core Ijaw promoters in Bayelsa and others who consider Ogbuku a threat to their governorship ambitions in Bayelsa leave the NDDC boss alone to focus on his job.
“Almost all the stakeholders in the region are happy with Ogbuku, and President Tinubu is also happy with his performance in the region.
“The interests of a few greedy and self-centered individuals cannot override public interest and the general well-being of the Niger Delta,” he stated.
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