Buhari Should Address Renewed Agitation in Niger Delta, Says Ijaw Youths

Ugo Aliogo and Chinenye Nduka

The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to put necessary measures in place to address the renewed agitation by the Niger- Avengers in the region, stating that there is a need for Buhari to meet with the Mend Aron team and resolve the issue through peaceful negotiation.

The group in a statement issued yesterday by the President of the group, Elvis Donkemezuo, called for the release of Comrade Daniel Ezekiel, Henry Okah, Charles Okah, and Ijaws youths who were arrested at Oporoza, Gbaramatu Kingdom, under the allegation of being members of Niger Delta Avengers, alongside others in different detention facilities across the country.

The statement also called for the continuity of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) which it stated has produced 40 delegates with First Class degrees in their various fields of study worldwide.

The group further called on the President to implement the UNEP Report on the Clean-up of Ogoni land, adding that there is need for Buhari to study and also implement in full the Leedum Mitee Technical Committee Report on the development of the Niger Delta.

The statement said: “The above among other cogent reasons actually necessitated the said vote of confidence. It is a strategy we adopted to get attention of the government to resolving the Nigerian problem in the Niger Delta. Everybody cannot be throwing bomb at same time.

“A lot of northern groups passed vote of confidence on former President Goodluck Jonathan when he was fighting to destroy the then dreaded Boko Haram insurgents while some equally criticised and condemned the clampdown. IYC should never be seen as enemy of government at this time in the history of the Ijaw nation because it will never be a healthy development.

“Again, we cannot achieve anything meaningful now through antagonism and violence rather we must appreciate the little the present administration is doing to better the lives of Nigerians in the midst of prevalent economic challenges which is not peculiar to only our dear and great country.

“As the umbrella body that shields all Ijaw youths, we believe that the best way to ask for more is to appreciate the daunting challenges the All Progressives Congress (APC) led federal government is facing that need our collective support to overcome rather than celebrate the dwindling economy or see it as act of failure on the side of government.”