The Ogbia Brotherhood Youth Council (OBYC) Worldwide has strongly condemned calls for the sack of the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Chief Samuel Ogbuku, by the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP).
According to the group, MOSOP’s call for Ogbuku’s sack comes on the heels of the purported exclusion of Ogonis from the just-concluded Niger Delta Stakeholders Summit organized by the NDDC.
The National President of OBYC, Comrade Johnny S. Jonathan, condemned the call by MOSOP in a statement sent to Mangrovepen.ng on Saturday.
The youth leader revealed that the event was attended by critical stakeholders of the region including representatives of the Ogoni ethnic nationality.
Jonathan, who is also the Chairman of the Bayelsa State Local Government Youth Presidents Forum (BSLGYP), said MOSOP, as a socio-political organization, has no power to demand the removal of the NDDC boss over trivial issues.
“The attention of the Ogbia Brotherhood Youth Council (OBYC) Worldwide has been drawn to what I term as a petty publication made in The Nation Newspaper of Saturday, 13 July 2024, credited to the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP).
“In the statement, they berated and alleged that our pathfinder, priceless jewel, visionary, and innovative leader, Chief Samuel Ogbuku, PhD, MD/CEO of NDDC, excluded the people of Ogoni from the just-concluded Niger Delta Stakeholders Summit.
“They emphasized that the NDDC Boss allegedly said that the main reason for the exclusion of the Ogonis from the Summit was because they have denied the Federal and State governments access to the crude oil deposits in Ogoniland.
“For proper information and record purposes, Chief Samuel Ogbuku, by his character disposition, is a reformed, refined, and detribalized son of the Niger Delta region who has respect for people irrespective of social status, ethnic tie, creed, political affiliation, and persuasion.
“He has launched collaborative efforts and actions geared towards uniting the people and creating the necessary conditions for social cohesion in the Niger Delta Region through his periodic Stakeholders engagements.
“Consequently, the MD couldn’t have contemplated excluding an important ethnic nationality like the Ogoni, let alone making a nasty and denigrating comment as alleged by one Imeabe Oscar of MOSOP,” the statement read in part.
Johnny stated that Niger Delta is on a new pathway to sustainable development courtesy of the transformational leadership being demonstrated by Ogbuku at the NDDC.
“The days where a section of people in the region who have mastered the art of pulling leaders of the region down, under the guise of advancing groups’ interests, are over,” he said.
The OBYC President emphasized that such crude and destructive actions are not only obsolete but also counterproductive.
He, however, called on Niger Deltans and the general public to disregard the statement credited to MOSOP.
“May I use this medium to urge aggrieved individuals to always channel their dissatisfaction properly rather than rushing to the media to make comments that are capable of creating division among the ethnic nationalities,” the statement concluded.
