By Ndu Samuel
The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide has written His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other government agencies in Nigeria over what it described as Post-Protest review and demands of the Ijaw people and Niger Deltans.
This was contained in a statement signed on behalf of the entire Ijaw Youths Worldwide by the duo of Sir Jonathan Lokpobiri Snr, President Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide and Amb. Binebai Yerin Princewill, Spokesman Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, a copy of which was seen by Crossfire Reports.
The IYC while describing the Ijaw ethnic nationality as the oldest tribe in Nigeria and the largest oil producing ethnic group in Nigeria had expressed concern over series of issues that they want the Federal Government of Nigeria to swiftly address.
The statement reads in full below:
A Press Briefing Held In Yenagoa On Thursday 15th Of August 2024 By The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide To Address The Ijaw, Niger Delta Post Protest Review And Demands Before The Federal Government Of Nigeria.
It would be recalled that while the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) and its affiliate bodies did not participate in the national protest, tagged “END BAD GOVERNMENT” hunger protest to address the hardship faced by Nigerians that started from August 1st till August 10th 2024, the IYC clearly stated reasons why it did not join the protest with a promise that Niger Deltans and Ijaw Youths shall meet to design her own demands before the Federal Government.
While the IYC is also very empathetic to the plights of Nigerians at this critical point in time, we make bold to say that Council perceived dark sinister motives behind the protest as the IYC is not agitating for the disintegration of this country, neither a change of Government through the back door and other very questionable and strange demands away from the Ijaw struggle for resource control and self determination that is a threat to Nigeria’s democracy. This was why we were not surprised when people purportedly raised the Russian flag during the protest.
In line with our earlier position as a Council that we shall be coming up with our Post-Protest review and demands from the Ijaw Youth Council before the Federal Government of Nigeria, after due consultations, we have come up with the following demands for the Federal Government to take urgent action.
The IJAW NATION being the oldest tribe in existence in Nigeria and the largest oil producing ethnic group that accounts for almost 70 % oil reserve in Nigeria states our demands as follows:
1. EAST-WEST ROAD: it is our call before the Federal Government that the East West Road should be given a serious attention by the ministry and agencies involved as we are not comfortable with the snail pace the road is taking, there shall be no excuses on the speedy fixing of the entire East West Road, particularly the Niger Delta axis of the road.
2. COASTAL ROAD: While the IYC lauds His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for initiating the Coastal Road, it is our demand that the Coastal Road should also start from Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Rivers. It is our fear that if this is not done, the road might only cover the South West without getting to the South South that is producing the resources for the project.
3. REFINERIES: it is our demand that the refineries in the country must be encouraged within to ensure that they produce refined products to serve the growing needs of Nigerians. We cannot as a nation depend solely or majorly on importation of Petroleum products to serve the growing population in Nigeria. We must move away from dependency to a producing state.
4) Today, going forward, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) and the Ijaw people want to have a say and a sense of belonging in the Oil and Gas Industry, for so many years, our people are hardly employed, neither the few ones that are there are hardly promoted. This dichotomy has to be reviewed to accommodate the Ijaw and the Niger Delta people.
5) SHELL DIVESTMENT: The Ijaw Youth Council have taken a position on the Shell’s Onshore Assets Sale to a Consortium that unless our people are given the right of first refusal and our people are included, we cannot accept the the purported sale of the Shell’s Onshore Assets in the Niger Delta. Shell must also clean-up our environment properly before its planned divestment.
6) We are calling on the Federal Government of Nigeria and the multinational oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region to relocate their IOCs headquarters back to the Niger Delta region as their original operational base. This injustice has festered for too long.
7. INCREASE OF PAP ANNUAL BUDGET: Considering the harsh economic realities in Nigeria, the steady fall of naira against the dollar and other biting economic issues bedeviling the Nigerian State, there is the urgent and compelling reason to review and increase the annual budget of the Niger Delta Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) to enable the program leave up to its expectations. We cannot continue to work with 2009 template of the programme, things are no longer the same, reviewing and increasing the budget is long overdue and this has to happen now.
8) CONCERNS OVER MILITARY FIGHT AGAINST OIL THEFT IN NIGER DELTA: It is no longer a news that the Niger Delta environment is one of the most abused and violated environment. It is our call that the military should take caution in their fight against illegal bunkering in the region following the indiscriminate burning of camps which later constitutes environmental hazards to the locals. The military needs to be more tactical in employing environmental best practices while dealing with oil theft in the region. There has to be a serious collaboration between the locals and the military. Our environment is very precious to us.
9) We need proper explanation on the dangerous move by the Federal Government of Nigeria for piping the Gas from the Niger Delta to far away Morocco and Spain without our people included or participating in the process. The IYC is seriously concerned about this scary development.
10) The IYC is using this medium to request a formal meeting with the state Ministers for Petroleum (Oil) Senator Heineken Lokpobiri; State Minister for Petroleum (Gas), The Minister, Niger Delta Development, Abubakar Momoh, The Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), High Chief Dennis Otuaro PhD, GCEO, NNPCL, Mele Kyari., The Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), Philip Mshelbila, Engr Gbenga Komolafe , Chief Executive Officer, NUPRC respectively and other critical and relevant agencies in the region for engagement on the way forward for the region and Ijaw nation in no distant time.
Signd:
Sir Jonathan Lokpobiri Snr,
President Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide.
Amb. Binebai Yerin Princewill
Spokesman Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide.
