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The massive protests which recently occurred at different locations including National Assembly, Niger Delta Affairs Headquarters in Abuja among others by Ilaje youths have been generating gross reactions and massive outcry over marginalization of the Ilaje speaking indigenes from leadership of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) not minding the fact that the state is the fifth most oil producing states in Nigeria.
The youths during the massive peaceful protests expressed their grievances as their demands like;
“ILAJE PEOPLE ARE NOT SLAVES, AWA LOKAN”, ” JUSTICE 4 ILAJE PEOPLE”, “PLZ GIVE US NDDC MD, ONDO LOKAN”, among many others were boldly displayed on placards while appealing to the President, National Assembly, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and other relevant authorities to follow the NDDC Act, remove the Sole Administrator that is illegally running the NDDC and appoint an Ilaje man of Ondo State as the next MD of NDDC.
It would be worthy of note that four states out of the nine states of Niger Delta that are ahead of Ondo State have been the Managing Director (MD) of NDDC and the position of the MD according to NDDC Act section 12(1) should be rational from the state producing the highest quantum of oil to the lowest.
This is coming shortly after Femi Falana (SAN) in a statement asked for a replacement of NDDC MD with an Ondo Indigene.
Recall that the FG after the expiration tenure of the previous MD came up with an Interim Management Committee (IMC) with the head of the Committee as Acting MD. This generated a lot of reactions which resulted into removal of the Acting MD through court order in Dec 13, 2020. This again led to another appointment of a Sole Administrator by FG to running the NDDC pending when an MD is duly appointed by the process of the Act.
Ondomind
