A group of Niger Delta youth leaders on Wednesday marched to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) Towers in Abuja.

They are demanding the resignation of the Group Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, over alleged corruption and poor management of the company.

According to The Nation, protesters, who began their action around 6 a.m., blocked both the entrance and exit gates of the NNPCL headquarters.

They insisted that the leadership of the company should be handed to a son or daughter of the Niger Delta, the region that produces most of the country’s crude oil.

Carrying banners and singing solidarity songs, the youths set up loudspeakers and played music from an open truck stationed near the towers.

Their presence caused heavy traffic gridlock along Herbert Macaulay Way in Abuja’s Central Business District.

Security operatives, including police officers deployed to the area, urged the demonstrators to remain peaceful.

They also diverted traffic to one lane to ease congestion while workers heading to the towers were forced to park at distant spots and walk to their offices.

The protesters later shifted from the main highway to the exit gate of the NNPCL building after appeals from a representative of the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri.

This allowed traffic on the affected road to flow again.

Although the protest disrupted activities in the area, it remained peaceful until the youths dispersed.