Niger Delta youths under the aegis of Revamp Niger Delta Now Movement (RNDNM), have vowed to occupy the East West Road and make it their temporal homes during the nation wide protest from August 1 to 10, 2024.
This is as members of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Rivers State Chapter, have dissociated themselves from the planned protest.
The Convener, Ebideke Atuwo and Contact Manager, Doubra Sien, made this known in a statement issued at the weekend in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
He said the protest would be observed peacefully in Bayelsa State by the group, adding that they have fully mobilised a crowd, which would demonstrate peacefully to vent their anger over the current hardship experienced in country.
The statement reads in part: “The various calls by politicians and traditional rulers to shun the organised national #EndbadGovernance protest in Nigeria has greeted our ears with deafness.
“We wish to draw the attention of the public that the protest will be observed in Bayelsa State and fully mobilised by our group with crowd, which would demonstrate peacefully to vent their anger over the current hardship experienced in our beloved country.
“We have already begun the process and preparations are in top gear to occupy the East West Road and make it our temporal homes from August 1 to 10, 2024, untill our demands are met.
“This is not about one group or another. It is about angry and hungry Nigerians, who are tired of the failed government policies. Protest is our right as enshrined in section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution (as amended). Nobody can take it away from us.
“We have already submitted our protest letter to the Commissioner of Police in Bayelsa State and relevant authorities to avail us with the needed support for our peaceful protest.
The ALGON members said that they are totally against the planned protest because it was capable of being hijacked by hoodlums to loot and destroy valuable properties and cause break down of law and order.
Speaking on behalf of members, the Caretaker Committee Mayor of Port Harcourt City Local Government Council, Prince Ichemati Ezebunwo, said that the State has been peaceful, adding that it was unnecessary to allow agents of destabilization to plunge it into palpable instability, anarchy and chaos with needless protest and disorganized demonstrations.
