Following alleged misappropriation of funds rocking the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), stakeholders of the oil-rich region are set to stage a massive protest against the Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, and the Professor Kemebradikumo Pondei-led Interim Management Committee (IMC).

The protest by the stakeholders, under the auspices of Niger Delta Development Initiative (NDDI), is as a result of the alleged misappropriation of funds in the commission, which was uncovered by the National Assembly.

NDDI, in a statement issued by its president and spokesman, Comrade Famous Daunimegha and Prince Kakas Amgbare respectively, stated that the protest is to call for the immediate sack of Godswill Akpabio, swift dissolution of the IMC, as well as the reconstitution of the NDDC Board.

It further called on critical stakeholders and well-meaning individuals to rise up against the IMC which was inaugurated by the presidency to oversee the affairs of the agency within the period of the forensic audit.

Representatives of the group noted that the recent happenings at the interventionist agency indicate that it is being managed as “a one man show”.

The stakeholders urged those indicted to understand that the NDDC is a product of negotiations of the oil arms struggle for the emancipation of the Niger Delta.

NDDI warned that should their demands be ignored, oil and gas facilities in the region will be disrupted.

“We note with anger the perceived corruption allegedly displayed or committed by Senator Akpabio and other members of the IMC, who catered away billions of naira meant for the development of the region in line with the core mandates of NDDC. It was the height of inhumanity and wickedness.

“It is sad to note that Dr. Cairo Ojougboh who is from Agbor in Delta state, which does not produce even a drop of oil, is dictating the actions, programmes and policies of the NDDC.

“They did not only steal the future of the people, but also stole education and made countless Niger Deltans illiterate, they stole healthcare and killed countless children. The stole monies meant for generating employment and made millions jobless.”

In a related development, youths under the aegis of Concerned Niger Delta Youths (CNDY) during a protest at the weekend, in Effurun, Delta state, called for the prosecution of officials of the NDDC, as well as NASS members who are indicted in the funds scandal.