Commercial activities were disrupted Thursday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, when more than 200 people with disabilities protested at the headquarters of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) along the ever-busy Aba Road, Port Harcourt over their neglect by the commission.
The protest which lasted for almost two hours saw the protesters, who converged under the aegis of Niger Delta Coalition of Persons with Disabilities comprised persons on wheel-chairs and clutches blocked the road against traffic.
The protesters came from the nine states that fall under the NDDC – Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Edo, Bayelsa, Cross Rivers, Ondo, Abia and Imo.
They were joined by cripples, those who limped and others who stop movement into NDDC and blocked both sides of Aba Road, causing serious hold-up on the Aba road.
They requested to see NDDC’s Managing Director, Bassey Dan- Abia, for talks on how to benefit from the development initiatives of the commission, noting that several past efforts for audience with the commission had failed.
Their protest forced NDDC’s Youth Manager to appeal for calm and a N200, 000 transport offer, which the protesters turned down, while calling for the MD to address them.
David Thank-God, President of the group lamented that over the years, no disabled person had benefited from the NDDC even though many of them are graduates, noting that they had been abandoned and deprived of their rights as people from the Niger Delta.
“In the past, we looked for a platform to seek audience with the NDDC, but they always turned us down. We are carrying out picketing and we don’t mind staying here for one week until our demands are met,” Thank-God said.
Their persistent on being addressed by Dan-Abia paid off, as the MD promised to meet with them in a week’s time and offered them N1,000, 000 for refreshment and transport fare.
(Daily Independent)
