Niger Delta Women, Children to Shun October 1 Protest

Sylvester Idowu in Warri 

Women from across the Niger Delta region have said they and their children will not be part of the planned protest slated for October 1 against the Federal Government.

The Niger Delta women, from all the ethnic groups in the region at a stakeholders’ engagement put together by the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) in Warri Wednesday, expressed the fear that there were some internal and external motives behind the protest.

Rising from the meeting with the theme ‘Niger Delta Women: Empowerment As A Panacea For Peace, Stability and Economic Growth,’ the women lamented that many self-interested bodies are presently going about with ulterior motives asking people to do negative things.

The gathering was in continuation of the expanded Niger Delta stakeholders’ meeting of women groups and youth bodies, community leaders, opinion leaders, elders, traditional rulers and camp leaders by the Amnesty Programme office.

In their resolution at the end of the parley, the women directed their children and wards to shun the planned protests against the authorities.

To this end, they pleaded with Nigerians to give the Bola Tinubu administration a chance to confront and deal with the multi-faceted challenges facing the country. 

While lauding President Bola Tinubu’s administration for its support for women and youths in the region, they stated that: “When you appoint the right people into the right position, then you should start seeing positive result.”

The Niger Delta Women Leader, Madam Beauty Warejuowei, who read the communiqué of the meeting, urged women in the region to “stand firm and make the best use of opportunities given them by the authorities”, adding that: “This will give government the encouragement to do even more.”

According to her, “The Niger Delta region has been having PAP coordinators before now, but this is the time we can say the right people has been appointed to the right position.”

The Administrator of PAP,  Dr. Dennis Otuaro, commended the women forum for their support for the present administration just as he acknowledged their role in sustaining peace in the region.

He said: “We have to do it together. Talking peace in the Niger Delta, it is our women that are sustaining the peace.  The destiny of Niger Delta is in the hands of women.”

Otuaro added that the economic challenges in the country were temporary and appealed to the women group not to relent in their efforts to support the administration’s socioeconomic initiatives.

The PAP Administrator assured the women groups of sustained empowerment, vocational trainings, grants and scholarships to further add value to their lives.

Notable women leaders from the Niger Delta that graced the meeting included a frontline woman activist in the region, Ann-Kio Briggs; Chief (Mrs) Vero Tamgbowe, Madam Beauty Warejuowei, as well as the President of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Jonathan Lokpobiri and the pioneer IYC President, T. K. Ogoriba, among others.