…Claim that Dan Obo is VP South South of NYCN is fictitious –Stakeholders
Calabar— The Cross River State chapter of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) has strongly refuted allegations of misappropriation of ₦5 million, describing recent media claims attributed to its immediate past chairman, Mr. Daniel Obo, as “false, unfounded and malicious.”
Speaking during a state executive meeting held in Calabar on Saturday, the NYCN State Chairman, Comrade Emmanuel Olayi, denounced the rumour as an attempt to discredit the current leadership and sow division among youths in the state.
“To state clearly, the information on the social media space about a missing five million naira is false. It is unfounded. It is not true. I saw that just like you all saw it,” Olayi declared.
He explained that upon seeing the report, he reached out to Mr. Obo, who was quoted in the story, but received no feedback.
“The first person I called that morning was the immediate past state chairman, who was quoted by a journalist to have said that. He promised to call back immediately, which he never did,” Olayi recounted.
“There is a Latin maxim that says ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat—he who alleges must prove. So the burden of proof lies on the person who said something is missing.”
Olayi affirmed that since assuming office, the council has judiciously managed its limited resources:
“The little resources we had, we appropriated to all the structures of this youth council—from local governments to volunteer organizations to the state executive. Even this youth house that we are currently seated in was part of that appropriation.”
No Division in Cross River NYCN — Undie
Also speaking at the event, Engineer Chris Undie, former NYCN Vice Chairman, Cross River North, dismissed insinuations of factionalism within the state chapter of the council .
“Does it mean that Cross River State, too, is in faction?” he asked rhetorically.
“The answer is very clear. Do you have another NYCN State EXCO in Cross River State? You don’t. So the issue of faction is out.”
Undie also questioned the legitimacy of those claiming new leadership outside the structure of the council especially challenging the authenticity in the claim of Dan Obo emerging NYCN South South Vice President:
“Was there any endorsement from the state branch for the purported new leadership? No. So if there’s that breach, it means that is a nullity.”
He pointed out the inconsistency in the narrative pushed by the opposition:
“If someone is now made NYCN VP South-South, has he communicated with the State Chairman? No. So nothing is actually happening there. It’s all political fiction.”
NYCN National President Still Sukubo — Ndiyo
In a passionate submission, Prince Ndiyo Ndiyo, former NYCN State Chairman and current spokesperson to the national president, Ambassador Sukubo Sara-Igbe Sukubo, dismissed recent leadership claims circulating on social media.
“There is nothing that exists like Adodo and the so-called Daniel Obo’s leadership of the South-South. It does not exist,” Ndiyo asserted.
He highlighted the procedural violations by the group challenging the leadership:
“For you to expel someone from the council, there is a process. For any other leadership to emerge, it has a process. And the highest decision-making body of the council is the congress. Was there any congress? No.”
Ndiyo further emphasized that the current national president remains Ambassador Sukubo, who midwifed the state’s last congress:
“The conscience of the council in Cross River state is held in trust by Emmanuel Olayi. And Emmanuel Olayi is a member of the National Management Committee. He was not at any meeting where a new leadership was declared. That tells you everything you need to know.”
He condemned what he called “a show of desperation and wickedness,” aimed at distracting the council from its upcoming national congress in September.
Unified Front Ahead of National Congress
Comrade Olayi reaffirmed the state’s preparedness for the forthcoming national congress where a new national leadership of the NYCN is anticipated to emerge, contrary to recent claims that a new national leadership had already emerged:
“There is only one National Youth Council of Nigeria in Cross River State, and it is under the leadership of Ambassador Sukubo Sara-Igbe Sukubo. We are not divided. We are going to that congress ready—and we are not coming back empty.”
He concluded by calling on the youth of Cross River to stay focused and resist attempts to sow confusion within the ranks:
“We must come together to protect what belongs to all of us. There is no five million naira missing. It is a fabrication—and it ends here.”
Recall that Obo the immediate past state chair of the NYCN in Cross River, last week, alleged that Olayi of the NYCN in state had misappropriated the sum of 5 million Naira, part of the annual subvention from the state government. He also alleged to have been recently elected to the office of national vice president (South South), NYCN. But, according to documents and official exchanges cited by NEGROIDHAVEN at the NYCN Cross River Secretariat on Saturday, the NYCN Vice President South South is one Innocent Ajayi.
