IYC Demands Action on Niger Delta Wetland, Hails Amina’s Reappointment

Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa

The Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), Worldwide, has tasked the recently reappointed Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Organisation, Ms. Amina Muhammed, on the conservation of the Niger Delta wetland, which is rated as the third largest in the world.

A statement signed by the President of IYC, Mr. Peter Igbifa, described her reappointment as an acknowledgement of Nigeria’s contributions to global economy.

Igbifa stated that Muhammed’s reappointment has placed Nigeria on a vantage position globally to address the country’s environmental and other challenges.

He said that federal government’s neglect of the Paris Agreement on the preservation of wetland has led to reckless abandon of the natural endowment located in the Niger Delta.

He said that such sad development had worsened climate change and led to avoidable natural disasters like heavy flooding.

Igbifa, therefore, called on Muhammed to visit the Niger Delta in order to assess the damage done to the country’s wetland and use her vantage position to actualise the Paris Agreement.

He said that such visit would help her to gather facts on the devastation of the Niger Delta economy and enable her to make case for the Niger Delta in the next UN’s General Assembly.

Igbifa said: “As a council, we congratulate Ms. Amina Mohammed on her reappointment as the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations.

“Her reappointment is an eloquent testimony of global acknowledgement of Nigeria’s contributions to the global economy. We call on Amina to use her office to address the abandonment of the Niger Delta wetland conservation.

“Niger Delta wetland is the third largest in the world. Unfortunately, the federal government has recklessly neglected it despite being part of the Paris Agreement on wetland preservation.

“As a buffer zone and a protector against natural disasters, the wetland if completely destroyed, will worsen the global climate change and expose the country to unimaginable risks.

“We call on Amina to pay a scheduled visit to the Niger Delta region to assess the damage being done to the wetland and give that national support as the IYC makes case for the people of the region in the next UN General Assembly.”