With barely two days to the expiration of the 30-days ultimatum issued by the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, to the federal government to inaugurate the substantive board of the Niger Delta Commission, NDDC, some ex-agitators in the region have thrown their weight behind the planned shutdown of Commission, tagged #occupynigerdelta.
In a statement made available to newsmen in Yenagoa Monday, leader of Third Phase Amnesty, Ebi John, while describing the protest as timely, said there was no going back, which he noted was in the best interest of the region.
He urged multinational oil companies operating in the region not to remit the $1.6bn accrued to the Commission until a substantive board is inaugurated.
“The protest against NDDC is timely and any attempt by any quarters to sabotage the peaceful measures adopted to shut down the region will only add salt to injury therefore, we advise zero interference until the needful is done.
“We further alert all IOC’s operational in the region not to in any way remit the $1.6bn accrued to the commission until a substantive board is inaugurated,” the statement read.