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Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa

Niger Delta youths under the auspices of the Coalition of Niger Delta Youths Stakeholders (CNDYS) yesterday trooped out in large numbers in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, for a solidarity rally in support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his administration.

The rally was also organised to thank the president for the recent appointment of Dr. Dennis Otuaro as the administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).

The placard-carrying youths converged on Okutukutu area of the state capital as early as 9 a.m. adorned in T-shirts and Fez caps with the bold inscription: ‘We appreciate the Jagaban on appointment of Otuaro’.

The solidarity march, which over one kilometre, started from Okutukutu and terminated at the popular Tombia roundabout, and saw the youths chanting solidarity songs to appreciate President Tinubu for also appointing capable leaders such as Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, the managing director of the NDDC; Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil); Prince Ebitimi Amgbare as the MD of the Niger Delta River Basin Authority, among others.

The Convener of the coalition, Bodmas Kemepadei, said the rally comprised youth groups across the states of the region.

Kemepadei said: “The youths are unanimously supporting and commending President Tinubu for the appointment of Dr. Dennis Otuaro as the administrator of PAP.

“The massive number of youths are saying that the president has done well; they are saying that Otuaro’s appointment is going to bring peace in the Niger Delta.

“The youths are saying that because of the appointment of Otuaro, there won’t be restiveness and gunshots in the region.”

The convener said the emergence of President Tinubu had doused tension in the Niger Delta, noting that with Otuaro’s appointment, the hitherto youths restiveness that pervaded the region would be a thing of the past.

Kemepadei stated that: “Prior to this time, Niger Delta region used to be volatile. But many will agree with me that since Tinubu became the President, there has been relative peace in the region.

“Also, the awards of surveillance contract to our various leaders to secure oil pipelines, especially those located in the creeks and where the pirates operate from. So, in the course of protecting the pipelines, they also maintain peace and some level of sanity.”