Some stakeholders of the Ijaw Ethnic Nationality have kicked against calls in some quarters to relocate the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, Headquarters from Bayelsa State and for oil companies not to move their operational bases into the Niger Delta.
The stakeholders who were reacting to issues generated by a recent protest staged by aggrieved community members at the NCDMB office in Yenagoa said the state and the region still remain the most peaceful and conducive place for investors, despite attempts by detractors to paint it otherwise.
More stakeholders have thrown their weight behind a recent resolution by the Nigerian Senate asking international oil firms to relocate their operational bases to the Niger Delta, a directive given by Vice President Yemi Osibanjo four years ago.
Some members of Ijaw Ethnic Nationality Group, while airing their views in Yenagoa, said the region is currently the most peaceful in the country and noted that protests including one which recently disrupted activities at the NCDMB office in Bayelsa State are not a yardstick to judge the area as insecure.
They called on multinational companies and other investors not to be deceived by unsubstantiated reports, maintaining that militancy in the region ended after the post amnesty era.
The relocation of oil companies to the Niger Delta is a step many in the region believe will improve social and economic stability.