x

IYC knocks Sylva on N621.2bn NNPC road projects

Amgbare Ekaunkumo, Yenagoa
           

The Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide has carpeted the Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, for not doing enough to protect the interest of the Niger Delta region in the N621.2bn road projects to be undertaken across the country by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The IYC in a statement signed on Wednesday in Port Harcourt by its President, Peter Timothy Igbifa, said the youths would not rest until Sylva took expected steps to remedy the injustice done to the region  in the distribution of the 21 road projects.

“We find it unbelievable that a Minister, who hails from the most marginalised region and whose state, Bayelsa, lacks reasonable federal presence despite its sacrifice to the Nigerian project, would be missing at a meeting where the NNPC, which is under his ministry took a decision to share road projects at the detriment of the Niger Delta”, Igbifa said.

He added: “As we speak, Sylva does  not have a road to his Okpoma community in Brass Local Government Area of the state. The joint efforts between the Bayelsa State Government and the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to take a road to Brass only ended in Nembe. 

“The section between Nembe to Brass, the local government area of Sylva, would have been included in the NNPC project if Sylva had been alive to his duties as a minister.

There are other roads in Bayelsa, Rivers, Ondo, Edo and other states of the Niger Delta, that should have been included in the project list. 

“The inequality, injustice and inequity that characterised this project distribution gives eloquent credence to allegations that Sylva and other ministers from our region do not have the interest of the Niger Delta at heart”.

The youths reminded Sylva that the NNPC owed its existence to the Niger Delta insisting that the corporation could not 

for the first time be undertaking such projects without paying adequate attention to “a region it has almost rendered uninhabitable because doing so is to say the least provocative and a recipe for another violent conflict”.

Igbifa said: “We consider the action of Sylva as a dereliction of duty, betrayal of trust and display of irresponsibility unbecoming of a minister in his capacity. We will continue to feel this way until he races down to the region to prove us wrong.

“We are hereby asking Sylva to return to the region immediately and explain to us in a town hall meeting while he slumbered when others shared our commonwealth. We also use the opportunity to call on NNPC to adjust the project list in the interest of peace, justice and equity.”

Hot this week

Victor Osimhen Sets New Galatasaray Record With Brilliant Brace Against Bodø/Glimt

 Victor Osimhen continued his sensational European form on Wednesday...

KADMAM Advocates Improved Maternal Health, Declares “No Child Should Die at Birth”

By Achadu Gabriel, KadunaThe Co-chairman of the Kaduna Maternal...

ECOWAS Role in Conflict Management and Resolution of the Malian Crisis

By Abdul Mahmoud YayaleThe protracted crisis in Mali...

FG, Senate Leaders Head to Washington to Avert U.S. Sanctions Over Alleged Christian Genocide

 Top officials from the Federal Government and the National...

BREAKING:** Nnamdi Kanu’s Lawyers Quit Terrorism Case

Lead counsel and former Attorney-General of the Federation, Kanu...

KOSIEC Releases Timetable for 2026 Kogi Local Government Elections

By Noah Ocheni, LokojaThe Kogi State Independent...

Terrorist Invade Southern Kaduna Community, Abduct 10 Residents in Kauru LGA

By Achadu Gabriel, KadunaTerrorists have again attacked Southern Kaduna,...

How Violence Starves Nigeria’s Food Basket

By Emmanuel Sam DavidBenue State, once renowned as the...

Russia-Ukraine War: The Unfolding Burden on Africa

By Abu Jemimah LamiWhen Russia invaded Ukraine on...

Kaduna Partners REA to Boost Renewable Energy Access, Drive Industrial Growth

By Achadu Gabriel, KadunaThe Kaduna State Government, under the...

Gov. Ododo Pledges Full Support for North-Central Nigeria Prays Rally in Kogi

By Noah Ocheni, LokojaKogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo,...

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_imgspot_img