A combined team of the Police, Army and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) dispelled youths with canisters of teargas protesting the non-payment of their five per cent of the 13 per cent oil derivation received by the Akwa Ibom State government.
The youths who were dressed in black and white, and held a red and black flag stormed the Government House, along Wellington Bassey Way, Uyo, in their hundreds on Tuesday, demanding their share of the allocation.
The youths comprised men and women under the auspices of Ibom Youths Council (IYC) and had to run for safety into adjourning streets and Ibom Plaza when they were teargassed.
One of the leaders, Comrade Victor Bassey James, Secretary of the Niger Delta Movement who spoke with journalists about the grievances said, “We have suffered a lot; our youths have not been empowered. That is why we’ve come en masse to make sure that the governor looks into our matter.”
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While addressing the protesters, Police Commissioner, Olatoye Durosinmi, alongside the Commander of the 2 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, his NSCDC counterpart and the Commissioner of Internal Security, appealed for calm and urged them to return home, assuring that Governor Umo Eno would address their grievances at the appropriate time.
