The Niger Delta Youth Council (NDYC) has condemned protests against the newly appointed Board members of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

In a statement on Friday in Abuja, the NDYC National Coordinator, Mr Jator Abido and the Rivers Coordinator, Mr Chinedu Livinus said the NDDC Board members were people of proven integrity that would take the region out the dungeon.

The group particularly urged the National Youth Council Of Nigeria (NYCN) and the Western Ijaw Consultative Assembly (WICA) not to surrender their credible organisations to the whims and caprices of those who have held the region captive for many years.

Abido said the NDYC would expose those sponsoring series of protests against the newly constituted Board of the NDDC.

“The NDDC was established to address development issues in the region; successive leaderships of the Commission derailed from the essence of its establishment”.

“However, we are optimistic and confident in the ability of the new Board; The Niger Delta is all we have and must all put aside sentiments and support what is right in the interest of development of our area. We repeatedly called for probe of leaderships of the Commission right from its inception,” Abido said.

He said the NDYC would no longer take it lightly with persons and groups that are bent on keeping the region underdeveloped adding that time has come for the region to take its rightful place in terms of development.

“We will no longer fold our arms and allow treacherous persons to continue to take advantage of the youths they have kept perpetually poor and ill-educated to cause mayhem in our region and the nation in general”.

“Therefore, this should serve as friendly warning to those sponsoring protests against the NDDC Board. We shall henceforth, mobilise our members to put a stop to this cheap blackmail”.

“Enough is enough; the Niger Delta region is bigger and more important than any individual or group interest”, Abido stressed”.

He urged President Muhammadu Buhari to disregard those that want the country to return to old order adding that it is laughable that the cabal would claim the appointment was illegally done. (NAN)