The Niger Delta Youth Council has described as mischievous, claims by the Bayelsa State Government that the spill at Nembe could be comparable to the destruction of Hiroshima.
The NDYC, therefore, called on the Bayelsa State Governor, Duoye Diri, to resign his position over the comment on the spill.
The youths described as unacceptable, the position of the Governor that the Nembe spill was worse than the Gulf of Mexico spill.
The National Coordinator NDYC, Bassey Henshaw, stated this while addressing journalists in Abuja on Tuesday.
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 the presidency.
“There are some shuddering examples of this wicked intrigue. First was the 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 part, had responded promptly by providing guidance and support towards the efforts being deployed in containing the spill as well as providing stability.
The Niger Delta group also alleged that it appeared the conspiracy on the issue is an attempt to sabotage and rubbish the image and efforts of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) administration.
He said, “All his (Buhari’s) efforts at reorganising and reforming the crucial sector are being serially undermined by some forces whose motives are diabolical. It seems evident that those forces want to capitalise 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 lacks of capacity and incompetence by the Buhari government in a major area of the country’s economy. Based on the foregoing we demand that Governor Douye Diri resigns immediately from the office of Governor of Bayelsa State.”
