From Fred Itua, Abuja
The Niger Delta Youth Council (NDYC), has again condemned what it described as a deliberate falsehood promoted by some leaders in the region, following the Nembe oil spill in Bayelsa State.
It described those comparing the spill to Hiroshima, as mischief taking to a dangerous level.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday, the NDYC called on the Bayelsa state governor to be circumspect in his position and comment on the spill, where he had opined that the Nembe spill is worse than the Gulf of Mexico spill.
National coordinator NDYC, Henshaw said: What is playing out appears to be a poorly – choreographed but quite viciously motivated intrigue at work aimed at ignoring the ongoing efforts to contain the leak and mitigate the impact on communities around the location of the well but, more significantly, to undermine and damage and damage the Presidency.
“There are some shuddering examples of this wicked intrigue. First was unnecessary and malicious exaggeration of the spill by a mindless comparison with the effects of the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb catastrophe. Comparing the Nembe oil spill to Hiroshima, is taking mischief to a dangerous level. Doing so only confirms the stark ignorance demonstrated by the comparison.”
The group noted that the Presidency and relevant agencies, on their parts, have responded admirably in providing for guidance and support towards the efforts being deployed in containing the spill as well as providing stability.
The Niger Delta group also noted that it appears the conspiracy on the issue is an attempt to sabotage and rubbish both image and efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, adding, “all his efforts at reorganizing and reforming the crucial sector are being serially undermined by some forces whose motives are diabolical.
“It seems evident that those forces want to capitalize on this spill by exaggerating its impact beyond the scope of what is on the ground. Ultimately, they want to use it to undermine the federal administration and allege both lack of capacity and incompetence by the Buhari government in a major area of the country’s economy,” he added.
NDYC pointed out that Governor Diri’s posture and utterances on the Nembe oil spill call for closer examination by security agencies.
The group said the governor’s utterances are inciting and unsubstantiated and a play to the gallery capable of conflagrating beyond control, adding that the Governor just looked for anything to take a dig at Mr. President.
“As such, we make the unambiguous demand that he withdraws his wild and inciting comments and apologizes to Bayelsans whom he abandoned while Nembe burned. Competent leaders cut short private visits to respond to emergencies in their constituencies.
“It is also based on the foregoing that we demand that Governor Douye Diri resigns immediately from the office of Governor of Bayelsa State. Instead of acknowledging the fact that he lost an election before the Supreme Court unilaterally put him on the seat of Governor to work for the people, he is still busy playing bad politics with serious national issues,” the group said.
The NDYC also alleged that the entire concoction of baseless attacks is driven primarily by the undisguised desire to target and destroy individual reputations; to malign the integrity of cooperate concerns; to denigrate the Federal Government and its agencies including President Buhari and the Minister of State, Chief Timi Sylva.