Ijaw Youth Council condemns oil baron's Alhaji Indinmi's £14m donation to US university

NIGER Delta socio-cultural group the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has condemned the recent donation of N4.2bn (£14.38m) by Nigerian millionaire Alhaji Mohammed Indinmi to an American university saying his made his money from the region and should have spent it there instead.

 

A multi-millionaire, Alhaji Indinmi is the founder of Oriental Energy of which he is still chairman and is an in-law of former military ruler General Ibrahim Babangida. Valued at $670m, Alhaji Indinmi, 67, is Africa's 39th richest man and he recently made a donation to the American university.

 

Incensed at the fact that Alhaji Indinmi made his millions from oil blocks in the Niger Delta, the IYC said the right thing for him to do would have been to make his donation to the region. His donation has been labelled as an irresponsible and a global wastage of Niger Delta resources.

 

IYC spokesman Eric Omare, said: “It is sad and provocative that Mohammed Indinmi who operates in different parts of the Niger Delta region and has failed woefully in his corporate social responsibility to the host communities could donate such a whopping amount of money to a private institution in far away America. Meanwhile, the communities and people hosting his company, Oriental Energy wallow in poverty.

 

"Mr Indinmi has no single record of contribution to community development in Nigeria, not even in the terrorist ravaged north east. We state that the money Mr Indinmi wasted in far way America is Niger Delta money and the people of the region must work towards recovery all their resources in the form of oil blocks awarded to people like Indinmi."

 

Also, the IYC called on youths of the Niger Delta region to close ranks and work towards addressing the age-long injustice of past Nigerian presidents who award oil blocks to their friends and relatives while the people of the Niger Delta region wallow in poverty. Mr Omare said that the forthcoming IYC conference of Niger Delta youths on Thursday May, 26, in Warri, in Delta State provides the opportunity to start that journey as Niger Deltans must reclaim their resources.