Comrade Emmanuel Olayi, NYCN State Chairman sitting 3rd from right.
By Kelvin Obambon
Chairman of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Cross River Chapter, Comrade Emmanuel Olayi, has debunked allegation that the Council under his watch misappropriated N5 million being part of a N10 million subvention given to the youth body by the state government.
Recall that recently the immediate past State Chairman of NYCN, Comrade Dan Obo, now Special Adviser to Governor Bassey Otu on Youth Mobilization, had accused the Olayi-led executive of misappropriating N5million belonging to the council.
But reacting to the allegation at an emergency stakeholders meeting of NYCN in Calabar on Saturday, Comrade Olayi absolved himself and the entire members of his executive of any wrongdoing.
He challenged Dan Obo to tender evidence, if indeed there was any financial malfeasance in the books of the council, saying the allegation is laden with malice and mischief intended to distract the focused and purposeful leadership of the state NYCN.
He said, “the information on social media space is false, it is unfounded, it is not true. I saw that just like you all saw it, and for me, I owe respect to leadership.
“The first person I called when I saw that was the immediate past State Chairman who was quoted by a journalist to have said that; and because most times it’s better to hear from the primary source. And he had promised that he would call back immediately, which he never did, and then I followed up with other calls”.
In law, Olayi said, “there’s a Latin maxim that says he who alleges must prove. So the burden of proof lies on a leader who said there’s a N5 million misappropriation. I want to state clearly that there is nothing like that. You can attest to the fact that when we came on board, the resources we had were appropriated to all the structure of this youth council, from local government, to voluntary organizations, and to the state executive.
“Even this youth house that we are currently seated, it was part of the appropriation that was done by my exco, in addition to effort that we made by ourselves to get this place to where it is. So the burden of proof lies on the person who said there’s something missing”.
“My concern is that the person who was quoted is a member of the Advisory Council; he is an ex-official member of this current team. So if there was no intent of malice, the primary person who was quoted would have approached the internal mechanism to register his grievances,” he explained.
Commenting on the purported appointment of Dan Obo as the National Vice President, South-South Zone of NYCN, Olayi clarified that he was not aware of such development in the NYCN national body, as there is currently no change of leadership communicated to him as State Chairman and member of the national management committee”.
He affirmed that Ajayi Innocent from Edo State is the current National Vice President South-South Zone, while the National President of NYCN is Comrade Saraigbe Sukubo. Olayi disclosed that a national congress has been fixed for September when a new leadership at the national would be constituted, bringing an end to the Sukubo-led administration.
The State Chairman further clarified that Saraigbe Sukubo presidency is recognized by the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, hence, any action taken by anybody outside the constituted authority of the NYCN amounts to illegality, and such would not be recognized by the state chapter. He said while Cross River is poised to secure a key position in the NYCN national, it would not go through the backdoor but via legitimate means which is the National Congress slated for September, 2025.
Olayi therefore concluded with an appeal for support from all stakeholders to enable the state chapter continue to project the interest and welfare of youths in Cross River.
