The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has threatened a showdown with the Presidency over alleged anomalies in the recent recruitment exercise being conducted by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The body of Ijaw youths worldwide warned of dire consequences if the NNPC and those in the Presidency refuse to accord qualified Ijaw who also apply for the jobs their rightful positions in the exercise.
The Secretary-General of IYC, Alfred Kemapadei, who spoke at a press conference at Ijaw House, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, yesterday, said information reaching them indicates that some cabals in the Presidency have hijacked the exercise.
He said the cabals had perfected plans to fill the various positions with their allies and cronies without recourse to the need of the Niger Delta people whose land had been completely devastated.
“Recently, you may have discovered that NNPC made a publication for qualified people to apply for various positions in the corporation and applications were made round the nation.
“And as Ijaw, as qualified and competent as we are, most of us also applied to be given those jobs but a sad information reaching us is that the Presidency has hijacked the process of recruitment and that our people, the Ijaw people, are being sidelined and we find that very offensive for many reasons,” he said.
“Amnesty office, scholarship from NDDC, scholarship from government like Bayelsa State and other related training programmes have trained Ijaw sons and daughters. They are qualified with local and foreign certificates and so nobody can doubt the competent of the Ijaw people.
The youths, therefore, urged President Muhammadu Buhari and the new Group Managing Director of the NNPC to look into this issue and ensure that Ijaw indigenes, who applied for those positions and are qualified for these positions, are considered.
Also speaking, Chairman of the western zone of the council, Kennedy Olorogun, warned the Federal Government not to use the NNPC job to play politics, but the giving out jobs in merit.
