NDDC CHARGES NIGER DELTA YOUTHS TO EMBRACE PEACE

PORT HARCOURT, Rivers, Nigeria – The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has charged youths in Nigeria’s oil-producing communities to join in campaigning for peace and security in the Niger Delta region. Speaking after receiving an award for excellence from the Niger Delta Youth Forum, the NDDC Director Corporate Affairs, Dr. Ibitoye Abosede, stated that development can only take place in an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity.

Abosede, who received leaders of the Youth Forum in his office at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, stressed the need to create the right environment for development to flourish.

He thanked the youth group for finding him worthy of the award of “Excellence in Good Leadership,” noting that all stakeholders should join in the effort to sanitize the Niger Delta to make it attractive to investors.

Abosede advised the youths to be focused so as to put their God-given talents to good use, adding that they should not be discouraged by temporary setbacks. The Director stressed the importance of sensitizing youths in the Niger Delta on the dangers of militancy and other social vices, stating that violence begets violence.

He remarked that promoting awareness campaigns within the Niger Delta region remained a viable tool for development agencies that need peace and security to deliver on their mandates, adding that “as an interventionist agency, the NDDC needs the cooperation of all stakeholders to perform optimally.”

Abosede said that youths of the Niger Delta region have a crucial role to play in enthroning peace. He declared: “We don’t want protests and agitations in the Niger Delta anymore. Dialogue is the way to go.”

Earlier, the President of Niger Delta Youth Forum, Comrade Emmanuel Ekine, said that the body was organising awareness campaigns in the region to sensitize the youths on the need to shun violence and criminality. Ekine said: “The youth forum has observed that restiveness; violent agitations and criminal tendencies are the prevalent challenges confronting the region.”

He commended the NDDC director, explaining that his nomination for recognition came after a careful consideration of his contributions to youth development, especially his outstanding leadership qualities and transparent service to the Niger Delta region.