Niger Delta Youth Council (NDYC) has suspended its planned protest against the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for failure to consider its youth in its recent recruitment.
The group announced the suspension in a statement jointly signed by its National Coordinators, Mr Jator Abido and Mr Kede Michael.
It said the suspension was necessary following the persistent clashes between the members of Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) and security agencies.
The clash had caused tension in Abuja and other states of the federation due to the continued detention of their leader in Nigeria, Sheik Ibrahim El-Zazaky.
The IMN has consistently organised protests in the nation’s capital and other states in the North resulting in many deaths including a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) and a National Youth Service Corps member with Channels Television.
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“We had planned a grand protest to shut down activities of NNPC and all its subsidiaries in reaction to marginalisation of people of the region in the last recruitment exercise carried out by the nation’s oil company.
“The Niger Delta Youth Council has held series of meetings with representatives of NNPC over the issue; we made demands and they agreed that our demands were genuine and promised that the management would look into them.
“However, we have not seen signs that moves are being made to address our concerns.
“As law abiding citizens, who are genuinely concerned about the peace and development of the nation, we resolved at our congress to shelve the protest in the interest of peace.
“We will continue to engage the management of the corporation,” the group stated.
The group further added that it would not relent in its struggle until the youth of the region were considered in recruitment into the NNPC and its subsidiaries.