The Central Zone of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), Worldwide, Thursday, lambasted some unnamed leaders and politicians in Bayelsa State for hijacking and abandoning contracts awarded by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Rising from their meeting at Ijaw House, Yenagoa, the state capital, the IYC executive members in the zone lamented that the Abuja-based politicians shared the contracts among themselves and collected the money without executing them.
As part of their resolutions after the emergency meeting, the IYC leaders said they would soon send a list of the jobs, which were abandoned after huge amount of money, was released by NDDC and the politicians behind them to the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
They commended the current board of the commission especially the Managing Director of NDDC, Mr. Nsima Ekere, for his uprightness in contract awards but flayed persons, who shortchanged Bayelsa.
Speaking after the meeting, the Chairman of IYC, Central Zone, Mr. Tare Porri, said the council was pained that NDDC contracts meant for youths to curb restiveness in the state were also cornered by the politicians.
He said: “We carried out independent investigations and it was revealed that water hyacinth job that was hitherto given to the youths, were diverted by our leaders and politicians. They shared the jobs among themselves and never gave a single job to the youths in this zone.
“We are aware that some bigwigs in the National Assembly took some of the jobs. Our waterways in our respected communities are blocked because of water hyacinth. They took these jobs without executing them.
“It is unfortunate that our leaders shared the jobs without given any one to our youths I the central zone. IYC central zone frowns at that and we are condemning that act in its entirety knowing that the jobs were awarded to ensure the actualisation of the purpose of the jobs”.
Porri hinted that the NDDC was making preparations to award a new set of water hyacinth jobs, but lamented that the same political contractors had engaged in the process of hijacking the jobs.
“This time around, we will resist any attempt by leaders who do not mean well for the wellbeing of the youths. We are calling on the MD, NDDC to please follow the laid down procedure in awarding the jobs to persons affected by the hyacinth.
“The jobs should be given to the youths because when we get the jobs we will ensure that the jobs are done”, he said.
Porri further pointed out that Bayelsa’s share of contracts in the 2017 budget of NDDC were cornered by politicians, who refused to do the jobs.
He said: “We don’t know the persons that had taken these contracts, but they are Bayelsans. We don’t know where these jobs are located and we don’t know the value of these contracts.
“We, therefore, use this medium to call on the MD and the entire board of the NDDC to please furnish the IYC with the details of these contracts. This time around, we will not allow any leader to deceive us again.
“We frown at the attitude of our leaders who are interested in getting contracts from NDDC but they are not interested in executing the projects. Bayelsa State, central zone, happens to be the state that has highest number of NDDC abandoned projects.
“Why is it that our leaders are not interested in developing our state even when jobs are being given to them? If these jobs were given to foreigners, we would have been raising alarms but this time the jobs were given to our people but they didn’t do them. We are calling on the MD, NDDC, whom we know as a transparent man to please help us furnish us with the details of these contracts”.
The IYC boss cried out that the same set of politicians took over other emergency NDDC jobs designed to create economic activities in the state.
He said the politicians were creating confusion in the state and called on President Muhammadu Buhari to rescue Bayelsa from the greed of a few politicians in the state.
Describing persons involved in the rackets as Abuja-based politicians, he said the contracts were shared among their cohorts in Abuja without recourse to the plight of youths in the state.
Porri said: “We want our leaders that had taken these jobs to do the needful by executing these projects that were awarded to them. Failure to do this, Ijaw youths will do everything possible to ensure that those who took these contracts are brought to questions.
“President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration has resolved to fight corruption. So. We are calling on Mr. President to also help the Ijaw people in the central zone. Our jobs were given to politicians in Abuja not minding what we are going through.
“In 2017 is when the governor of Bayelsa is trying to construct a road to Agge from Sagbama after 57 years of independence. That road was earlier awarded by NDDC. The governor had to take over the road project.
“We are calling on the NDDC to work with the governor of Bayelsa state to come up with priority projects that would benefit the collective interest of Ijaw people. As IYC, our interest is development”.
The IYC boss advised the NDDC board to henceforth award contracts directly to people in the grassroots through established youth structures like the IYC central zone.
