RESURGENCE OF HOPE: Egbema Youth Set to Storm NDDC Over Udo-Ofunama Road Neglect

🚨 RESURGENCE OF HOPE: Egbema Youth Set to Storm NDDC Over Udo-Ofunama Road Neglect 🚨

Port Harcourt, Nigeria — August 5, 2025 | By Prince Agbedeyi Odimientimi Desmond

In the blazing heart of the Niger Delta, where rivers snake through oil-rich soil and communities breathe resilience, a long-buried cry is rising again. The cry is not of rebellion, nor of war—it is the dignified voice of a people long ignored, seeking nothing but what they were promised: access, development, and inclusion.

On the 12th of August 2025, hundreds of indigenes under the banner of the Egbema Youth Council (EYC) will march to the headquarters of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in Port Harcourt. This peaceful protest, spearheaded by the Egbema Youth Progressive Foundation, is not a spontaneous outburst of discontent. Rather, it is the crescendo of years of silence, suppression, and strategic patience that have now matured into a structured demand for justice.

🛣️ The Forgotten Road, the Fractured Promise

At the centre of this protest is the Udo-Ofunama Road Project—an infrastructural artery that, if completed, would breathe economic life into multiple communities across Egbema Kingdom in Edo State. For decades, promises have been made to connect Udo, Ofunama and several other key communities whose isolation continues to cripple the movement of people, goods, and services.

The contractor have come and gone, his signboards rusting beneath overgrown weeds and floodwaters. Budgets have been announced, but implementation remains a ghost story whispered among elders in village squares. Yet, the road lies like an open wound—muddy, forgotten, impassable—mocking every headline and ribbon-cutting ceremony that has ignored its existence.

📢 A Strategic Mobilization, Not Mere Protest

“We are not out to disrupt, we are out to demand,” says Amb. Gen. Silas Tamarau-emi Toruwei JP.LL, Organizing Secretary of EYC Worldwide and Chairman of the Udo-Ofunama Fundraising Committee. “Our protest is peaceful. Our goal is restoration. Our weapon is truth. We want to remind the NDDC and the federal government that our people matter too.”

Toruwei, a respected figure across Ijaw communities, has been mobilizing traditional rulers, youth groups, non-governmental organizations, and concerned stakeholders across Nigeria and the diaspora to support the cause—not just in presence, but in financing the logistics, welfare, and mobilization efforts necessary to stage the protest safely and efficiently.

💳 Designated Support Account

For those willing to support this righteous campaign, the organizers have released a designated fundraising account as follows:

  • Account Name: EGBEMA YOUTH PROGRESSIVE FOUNDATION
  • Account Number: 2003321110
  • Account Type: Current
  • Bank: FCMB (First City Monument Bank)

“Every kobo, every naira contributed is not just financial support—it is a vote for dignity, justice, and equity,” Toruwei added.

📞 For Confirmation and Inquiries:

  • 08053101589
  • 07052224289
  • 08063382923
  • 08035191859

🌊 Udo and Ofunama: Islands of Isolation

What makes this road so vital? Beyond its geographic function, the Udo-Ofunama corridor is a symbol of Niger Delta neglect. Located in the Egbema Kingdom of Edo State—an oil-producing enclave that has contributed billions to Nigeria’s economy—the communities of Ofunama, Ajakurama, Gbeoba, Jamagie, Abere, Ugbolukanga, Inikorogha, Ugbo, Ifiebou, Okoinga, Ikobou, Binidodogha, Itagbene, Awamba, Dabio-Uba, and several other communities remain shockingly disconnected from the national infrastructural grid. Children trek for hours to attend school. Expectant mothers paddle through treacherous waters to reach clinics. Youths are cut off from economic opportunities simply because there is no road.

Even worse, the rainy season often turns what little paths exist into swampy deathtraps. Farmers lose produce. Traders lose profits. Lives are lost—not to violence, but to governmental silence.

🛑 A Line Drawn in the Sand

This is why August 12 will not be just another day. It will be a day of reckoning—a line drawn between the past and a hopeful future. The protesters aim to occupy the NDDC Port Harcourt Office peacefully but persistently until credible commitments are made to revisit and resume the Udo-Ofunama Road Project.

“This protest is not anti-government. It is pro-development. We are simply asking the government to do what it promised to do,” one youth leader told Global Egberi Media International.

🌍 A Regional Symbol

The protest has already attracted regional interest. Activist groups from Delta, Rivers,Ondo and Edo states have expressed solidarity, noting that the Udo-Ofunama Road has become a metaphor for other abandoned projects across the Niger Delta. Political observers believe that how the government handles this protest may signal its broader commitment—or lack thereof—to resolving Niger Delta grievances through peaceful means.

🕊️ Peace, But Not Passivity

In a region often marred by militancy and unrest, the EYC’s choice of peaceful protest reflects a new strategy. They are showing that activism can be orderly, structured, and still powerful. Yet, the underlying message is unmistakable: We will no longer be silent.

📌 Final Word

As the sun rises on August 12, the Niger Delta will once again find its voice in the streets of Port Harcourt. Whether that voice is heard—or ignored—remains the burden of those in authority. But one thing is clear: the people of Egbema in Edo State are no longer waiting. They are walking. And this time, they walk with history on their side.

Report by: Prince Agbedeyi Odimientimi Desmond
For: Global Egberi Media International

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