Ijaw rights groups; Ijaw Interest Advocates (IIA) and the Izanzan Intellectual Camp (IIC) have begun mobilisation across oil-producing communities in the Niger Delta, in preparation against what they described as unending injustice against such communities.

The groups, in a joint statement in Abuja, berated the Federal Government for allegedly remaining bent on perpetuating a system of deliberate marginalisation against oil-producing communities, which they said had given so much to the development of Nigeria and had received nothing in return.

The groups, in the statement by their Coordinator, Arerebo Salaco Yerinmene (Snr), frowned at the constitution of the recently inaugurated Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), noting that the Chairman of the new Board, Lauretta Onochie, just like many instances before now, was appointed out of a non-oil producing community in Delta State.

They alleged that the Federal Government had consistently worked against giving needed opportunities to people from the oil-producing areas so as to perpetually keep them impoverished.

“NDDC was created specifically for the development of oil producing communities and the people in terms of staffing, appointments and development, but the agency has now been systematically turned to an agency for settling politicians, irrespective of their places of origin.

“Such reckless appointments and breach of the NDDC Establishment Act usually serve as fuel for future agitations in the oil-producing communities. It seems the government derives pleasure in creating the problems for people to agitate in order to send the military to crush and burn down our oil-producing communities on the slightest provocation to protest against government injustice

“It wasn’t an easy pill to swallow when Dr. Cairo Ojougbo from a non-oil producing community in Delta State was appointed Executive Director, Projects in the Commission from the start of Buhari’s administration. “Just as we were about recovering from that suffocation, the appointment of Ms Lauretta Onochei from that same non-oil producing area of Delta State has again, dealt another major blow, unleashed to undermine and provoke the people and to perpetually deny the oil-producing communities of their rights.” The Nation)

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