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Tag: Ijaw Youth Council (IYC)

  • Tension as Ijaw youths shut down local content’s office in Bayelsa

    Tension as Ijaw youths shut down local content’s office in Bayelsa

    Residents of Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, were Thursday struck with panic when protesting youths under the aegis of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Worldwide, stormed the Headquarters of the Nigeria Content Development Management Board (NCDMB).

    For about two hours, the aggrieved youths numbering over 100 barricaded the entrance leading to the headquarters located at the Opolo axis of Isaac Boro Expressway and disrupted the activities of the board.

    They claimed that the NCDMB violated the Act establishing it by allegedly opening new offices in Lagos and Abuja.

    Their presence around the building created security concerns and scared workers, who were compelled to lock themselves in their offices.

    The youths arrived the complex at about 9:45am and forced their way into the complex by pulling down a section of the fence when the security guards denied them access to the building through the main gate.

    The Chairman, IYC, Central Zone, Tari Porri, led the protest shortly after holding an emergency congress of the youths at the Ijaw House, Yenagoa.

    Porri said they discovered that the NCDMB opened new offices in Lagos and Abuja contrary to Section 71, sub-section 3 of the NCDMB laws.

    He said that the Act empowered the board to open offices only in oil and gas producing areas and wondered why the board decided to locate offices in Lagos and Abuja.

    Porri said: “This place has been left redundant and the Executive Secretary now operates from Lagos and Abuja and comes here only once in three months. This is unacceptable! The Executive Secretary should stay here with us.

    “The NCDMB laws stipulate that offices should be opened in only oil and gas areas, but the board has gone ahead to open offices in areas such as Lagos and Abuja which are not oil and gas producing areas.

    ”Some of the staff of the board like the security guards and drivers are working on contract basis, and this is unacceptable to us. We we want all the staff to be regularised.”

    The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Asuquo Amba, who arrived the scene later commended the youths for their peaceful disposition.

    He appealed to them to remain calm saying the state Governor, Seriake Dickson, was aware of their grievances and had promised to resolve the matter.

    Amba said: “I have to appreciate you for making this protest a very peaceful one, and I will still employ you to remain peaceful. But we should respect the sanctity of this place as the headquarters.

    ”I have listened to all your grievances. I am in touch with the state governor and I have spoken to him and if there is anybody to lead this protest, it is the state governor himself, but he has personally told me to come and address you, compile your grievances and forward them to him.

    “The Executive Secretary of the Board has given me the assurance that all the issues that you have raised would be addressed and it would be addressed in such a way that we would have a peaceful environment so that we can have more economic progress.”

    Earlier at a general congress, IYC Central Zone suspended the President of IYC Worldwide, Mr. Owolaemi Peretubo, from all activities in the zone, accusing him of conniving with the NCDMB.

    The congress also condemned the killing of four soldiers and a civilian as well as the burning of houses in Letugbene, Ekeremor Local Government Area of the state where the military had launched a manhunt over the reported killing of their personnel.

  • Militants kill four soldiers, civilian in Bayelsa

    Militants kill four soldiers, civilian in Bayelsa

    Gunmen suspected to be militants have ambushed and killed four soldiers and a civilian along the waterways of Letugbene, Ekeremor Local Government Area, Bayelsa State.

    Multiple security sources confirmed that a team of soldiers returning from Letugbene community on Monday became victims of an ambush laid by armed youths believed to be militants.

    It was gathered that the militants overpowered the soldiers, seized their arms, moved them to a location in the creeks and shot them dead.

    While one of the civilians, a boat driver was said to have escaped, the only survivor of the attack reportedly jumped into the water before he was shot by the hoodlums.

    An Ijaw youth leader and Chairman of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, Central Zone, Mr. Tare Porri, who confirmed the development condemned the killing of the soldiers describing it as bizarre and unprovoked.

    Porri said they were killed in cold blood adding that his zonal leadership would meet on Thursday (today) to discuss the issue and other problems affecting the zone.

    He was, however, worried that the action of the suspected militants had pushed the Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Delta Safe (ODS) to begin a military operation in Letugbene and Ebelabiri.

    He said residents in the area accused the military of burning down houses and destroying properties in the operation launched to fish out the perpetrators.

    He said: “Two days ago, four military officers were killed in cold blood alongside other civilians. Military officers went to Letugbene community and on their way back, some persons accosted them and killed all of them.

    “Only one of them escaped. Military, yesterday morning retaliated, invaded the communities and burnt down houses. The operations are still ongoing and it is spreading to other communities like Ebelabiri.

    Also a security commander, who confirmed the murder of soldiers, lamented rising cases of killing of security agents and said measures must be adopted to stop the trend.

    “Security operatives are now endangered species. It is unacceptable the way security agents, are killed by people they dedicated their lives to protect. In Bayelsa, policemen, civil defenders and soldiers are constantly killed. It is barbaric”, the commander, who spoke in confidence said.

    A police source, who also spoke in confidence, said only soldiers were killed in the attack adding that the civilian attached to the soldiers escaped.

    Efforts to get responses from the Commander, JTF, Rear Admiral Suleiman Apochi, yielded no results as he failed to reply to text messages sent to him on the matter.

  • ljaw youths to  IPOB, MASSOB:  We are not part of Biafra,

    ljaw youths to  IPOB, MASSOB:  We are not part of Biafra,

    The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Monday, warned the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) to stay away from Ijaw territories.

    IYC said the pro-Biafra groups should desist from including Ijaw territories in their map of Biafra insisting that the Ijaw ethnic nationality had no time agreed to be part of any Biafra.

    The IYC in a statement signed by a spokesman, Daniel Dasimaka, said the Ijaw people had never been part of Biafra.

    The Ijaw group explained that the old Eastern region was a political miscalculation that enslaved the Ijaw people.

    Besides it said that the old Eastern region was formed by persons, who also designed “this miscarriage of a state called Nigeria”.

    It said that the Ijaw was not against genuine aspirations of all peoples and groups including the MASSOB and IPOB, to attain self-determination or secession.

    But the group insisted that persons agitating for secession should not drag the Ijaw ethnic nationality into their geographical expressions.

    IYC said: “Ijaws are a distinct ethnic nation even before the 1914 amalgamation that has its own dreams, wishes and aspirations that should not be submerged as footnotes in any other peoples’ struggles.

    “We Ijaw people are not Biafrans. Therefore, if or when any Ijaw person or group feel a sense of allegiance to Biafra and speak in its favour, let it be known that such statements are the personal opinions of such persons, which do not reflect the thoughts, views and wishes of the entire Ijaw nation and the Niger Delta people”.

    The IYC also warned members of IPOB against insulting respected Ijaw elders and leaders, particularly critical stakeholders like AnnKio Briggs.

    It said: “For the records, the Ijaw struggle for self-determination predates the Biafra agitation.

    “It is a known historical fact that a year before the world got to hear of the term Biafra Republic, Ijaws led by late Major Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro of blessed memory declared a Niger Delta Republic in pursuit of the emancipation of the Niger Delta people which the progenitor of Biafran, late  Col. Ojukwy  of blessed memory fought against as the then Governor of the old Eastern region when the going was good with him in the Nigerian State.

    “It is also on record that a year before MASSOB was founded; the IYC through the Kaiama Declaration affirmed ‘our commitment to joint struggle with the other ethnic nationalities in the Niger delta area for self-determination’.

    “We express our solidarity with all people’s organisations and ethnic nationalities in Nigeria and elsewhere who are struggling for self-determination and justice”.

     

  • Pipeline fire: Bayelsa community threatens to shut down Agip’s operations 

    Pipeline fire: Bayelsa community threatens to shut down Agip’s operations 

    The Ayamasa community in Ekeremor Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, are threatening to shut down operations of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) following an explosion of a pipeline belonging to the company in the area.

    It was gathered that the Ayamasa-Tuomo trunkline owned by Agip burst into flames spilling unquantifiable amount of oil into the environment.

    Community stakeholders were said to have believed that the incident was caused by equipment failure.

    It was learnt that the bubbling fire lasted for about three days, spreading to vegetation and destroying aquatic lives, before it was put out by the company.

    Hundreds of women, youths and people of the community issued an ultimatum to the management of Agip following protest over the firm’s handling of the situation.

    They accused the company of failing to comply with due process saying the firm’s contractors came to clamp the ruptured section of the pipeline without consulting other stakeholders.

    The Central Zone’s leadership of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide confirmed the incident in Yenagoa and said the community youths were planning to disrupt the company’s operations in the area.

    He said: “Ayamasa end of the Trunkline got exploded and the fire was on for two days before this terrible pipelines contractors put it off and left the community without a word.

    “Up untill now the community has not heard from them and the community boys are now about to shut down the operations of that platform as I am speaking with you now”.

    Porri said the community was angry that Agip and government agencies failed to visit the site to assess the damage done by the incident.

    He insisted that obsolete equipment especially expired pipelines was the reason for facility failures and explosions in the Niger Delta region.

    The chairman said the youths were worried about the age of oil pipelines criss-crossing the state adding that such equipment required immediate replacement.

    According to him since the pipes were buried after the discovery of oil in commercial quantity at Oloibiri area of the state, they had not been changed.

    He insisted that expiration was the cause of most of the pipeline explosions and equipment failures causing oil spills in the environment.

    He said: “We have been appealing to oil companies to immediately begin the process of replacing pipelines buried in the region for many decades.

    “Since oil was first discovered in Bayelsa, in Oloibiri, the pipelines that are criss crossing  the entire central zone which they used in taking first oil from our environment have all expired. Even human life has an expiring date much less equipment made by humans.

    “Most of the explosion, most of the things that happen in the environment are not caused by Ijaw youths. Ijaw youths are law-abiding, Ijaw youths are not fighters and we are hardworking.

    “I want to make bold to say that all the multinational oil companies that are again operating in our zone should as a matter of urgency commence the process of replacing all the expired pipelines across the central zone because we will no longer tolerate corrosion and equipment failure”.

    The IYC boss appealed to Agip to immediately move to the site, access the damage done by the incident to begin the process of remediation and compensation.

     

  • Protest as IYC faction takes over secretariat in Bayelsa 

    Protest as IYC faction takes over secretariat in Bayelsa 

    A faction of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide led by Mr. Oweilaemi Pereotubo, Wednesday, took over the National Secretariat of the council in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

    Some officials of the state government led by a former Commissioner for Culture and Ijaw National Affairs, Dr. Felix Tuodolor, led the Pereotubo council of IYC to the secretariat and handed the building over to them.

    But the faction led by Mr. Eric Omare, protested the development saying it smacked of illegality and urged Ijaw youths to disregard the handover.

    Succession crisis has crippled the IYC as the two factions fight over the leadership of the council.

    A committee set up by Governor Seriake Dickson to resolve the crisis chose the Pereotubo-led faction but Omare and his executive committee rejected the decision describing it as premeditated and unconstitutional.

    In a statement shortly after the secretariat was handed over to the Pereotubo faction, Omare described the “purported handover a display of mockery of the IYC constitution and processes”.

    He said: “For the records, the immediate past President of the IYC, Udengs Eradiri had handed over the leadership of the IYC to Eric Omare since March, 2017.

    “And it is customary in the IYC just like similar organizations for the immediate past President and leader to hand over to his successor.  Therefore, what is happening at Ijaw House is nothing but display of impunity and invitation to anarchy.

    “It is important to note that the Felix Tuodolor who is supervising the purported hand over and some former leaders of the IYC are already in court with the Eric Omare-led National Executive Council of the IYC in a suit challenging the legality of the purported Okrika convention called by former leaders of the IYC which produced the factional IYC leadership.

    “Consequently, we call on the Ijaw nation and the general public to disregard the factional leadership which Dr. Tuodolor purportedly handed over to while reiterating our call on Ijaw youths to be peaceful no matter the level of provocation”.

     

  • IYC flays security agencies for refusing to arrest Arewa youths 

    IYC flays security agencies for refusing to arrest Arewa youths 

    …Accuse them of double standard

     

    The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, Monday, lambasted the police, the Department of State Security (DSS) and other security agencies for failing to arrest the Arewa youth leaders, who issued quit notice to Igbo residents in the north.

    IYC, an umbrella body of Ijaw youths, in a statement signed by its President, Mr. Eric Omare, said treating the northern youths with kid gloves smacked of double standard on the part of security agencies.

    “The Arewa youths quit notice to Igbos living in the north to vacate the north by October 1, 2017 amounts to grave threat to national security and the indivisibility of the country.

    “However, the relevant security agencies have deliberately kept a deaf ear to the security threat posed by the Arewa youths treasonable quit notice”, Omare said.

    He argued that if a similar threat had been issued by youths from other parts of the country especially the Niger Delta region, communities such as Kaiama, Okerenkoko, Warri, Yenagoa and the entire Niger Delta region would have been under security siege.

    “We totally and in strongest words condemn this double standard by the Nigeria security agencies. It is totally unacceptable for security agencies to apply double standard in response to security threat in different parts of the country.

    “The standard applied to youth groups and agitators in the south should also be applied to same class of people from the north”, he added.

    Omare argued that the inaction of security agencies was an indication that some powerful persons in the north and the Federal Government were behind the Arewa youths.

    He said: “This fact has already been confirmed by Arewa Youth leader, Yerima Shettima who said that their leaders are behind them.

    “The IYC is confident that if Yerima Shettima and his co-travellers were to be Niger Deltans, they would have been behind bars now.

    “It is on record that Niger Delta activists such as Daniel Ezekiel, Jones Abiri and others are still in detention without trial for mere allegations of threat to national security.

    “The IYC therefore calls on the security agencies to rise above politics and stop the double standard in the performance of their duties.

    “The Arewa youth leaders who issued the treasonable quit notice to Igbos in the north should be made to account for their actions to avoid unnecessary loss of lives and properties as a result of their quit notice”.

    Omare also told Acting President Yemi Osinbajo that his ongoing consultations were cosmetic as they would not address the root cause of ethnic uprising in the country.

    He asked Osinbajo to take appropriate steps towards addressing the causes of the tension in the country rather than embarking on talk shows.

    He noted that northern oligarchy was a hinderance to genuine reconciliation through deliberate reconstruction of the federation.

    Describing Osinbajo’s move as a talk show, Omare said consultations only amounted to postponement of the evil days.

    Omare said: “IYC says that talks by Acting President Yemi Osinbanjo with various regional and ethnic leaders without taking practical steps to address the causes of the tension in the country amounts to postponing the evil days.

    “The IYC is of the view that Nigerian and Nigerians have deceived themselves enough and it is time to face the reality which is that the centre can no longer hold except steps are taken to reconstruct Nigeria to satisfy the yearnings and aspiration of the different ethnic nationalities making up the country.

    “It is on record that the southern parts of the country including some parts of the middle belt have consistently called for reconstruction of Nigeria to reflect the tenets of federalism with the centre allowed to handle only issues relating to foreign affairs, currency, defence and few other issues of national importance.

    “However, the opposition of the Hausa/Fulani oligarchy of northern Nigeria is holding the entire country to ransom in the quest for restructuring.

    “However, it is now obvious that restructuring is an idea whose time has come and no amount of Hausa/Fulani oligarchy opposition can stop it from coming to a reality”.

  • ‎Protest rocks Otuoke federal varsity 

    ‎Protest rocks Otuoke federal varsity 

    Angry protesters have disrupted academic activities at the Federal University located in Otuoke, former President Goodluck Jonathan’s hometown in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

    Hundreds of protesters were said to have caused a stir on Wednesday when they blocked the road and barricaded the entrance to the university over alleged  marginalisation of indigenes in employment into key positions in the institution.

    The aggrieved persons caused traffic gridlock during the demonstration, which reportedly started at about 7:30am.

    It was gathered that the action, which was led by the institution’s chapter of the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) and the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, lasted for about three hours.

    The protester were armed with placards of different inscriptions such as, “Bayelsans cannot be marginalised in our own lands”, “we want fair representation, Bayelsans are qualified”, “FUO na our oil well, Gbam!”, “it is our time, Bayelsans say”.

    They clapped, danced and demanded an attention from the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Accra Jaja.

    The protesters said they were bothered about the recent appointment of the institution’s Chief Legal Adviser, saying it failed the due process test.

    They insisted that the action of the university was a deliberate attempt to marginalise the indigenes and further under develop the people of the region.

    Jaja, who addressed the protesters in the company of senior employees of the institution and security operatives appealed to the protesters to calm down.

    The Chairman of SSANU, Mr. Kalizibe Joseph, said the recent appointment of a new legal adviser was not in tandem with the laid down procedure for recruitment.

    He asked the management to withdraw the appointment, follow due process, by first of all advertising the vacancy on a national daily to allow interested individuals to compete for the position.

    He said: “SSANU is a watchdog. The vice-chancellor had earlier said there is a shortfall in the institution allocation, which has made the institution unable to pay full salaries to workers.

    “We also agreed that anything employment should be put on hold pending when the institution’s finances will improve. But we were surprised on this new appointment.

    “Besides before the institution must employ, they are to first of all advertise, to give fair opportunity to all interested applicants who will also be subjected to interviews. But these processes were not followed. We are therefore calling for the immediate termination of this appointment, as it does not represent equity and fairness.

    “I am also using this medium to call on the Chairman of Council, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, to stop holding council meetings in her parlour in Abuja, but rather do the right thing by holding meetings in the institution”.

    Also speaking, the National Legal Adviser, IYC, Mr. Tare Porri, said IYC would continue to demand control of all resources located in Ijaw territory, saying Ijaws would never play a second fiddle in the country.

    “This action was a deliberate attempt by the Chairman of the council, Sen. Gbemisola Saraki to send Ijaw people parking from the university by singlehandedly imposing her brother against due process as the institution chief legal adviser.

    “All the principal positions in the school are occupied by foreigners except the office of the VC and a dean, who are Ijaw people but not indigenes. There are more than one million qualified Ijaw people that can hold that legal adviser position and a person from the north is not better off”, he said.

    He reminded the VC that the 2015 Presidential elections were lost simply because former President Jonathan was an Ijaw man, adding that there was no federal institution in the country that had Ijaw people in critical positions.

    Jaja promised to revisit the decision taken and pleaded with all the protesters to give him a week to properly address the issue.

     

  • Igbo traders in Bayelsa shut down shops over attacks 

    Igbo traders in Bayelsa shut down shops over attacks 

    Shops and other business premises belonging to Igbo traders at Biogbolo, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, have remained shut following attacks on traders by aggrieved youths from the area.

    Investigations, Thursday, revealed that all the shops at Customs Road and Green Villa extending to the Yenagoa-Mbiama Road could not open for business out of fears that the youths were regrouping for fresh attacks.

    The attackers have been protesting an alleged ritual killing of 17-year-old Faith Omosovu Pius by a 31-year-old non-indigene identified as Tochukwu at the New Wapo Hotel located in the area.

    Many traders have fallen victims of the attacks with their shops and business premises shattered and burnt by the youths.

    The police and the army have been patrolling the affected areas to stop further damage and restore the peace in the area.

    Government authorities and security agents were said to have held meetings with traditional rulers and community leaders to douse tension and prevent the situation from snowballing into full-blown inter-tribal war.

    The authorities were said to be prevailing on the angry indigenes to stop spreading hate speeches against non-indigenes especially Igbo traders because of the misdeeds an individual.

    The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, while condemning the killing, appealed to the indigenes to stop attacking innocent people.

    The Acting Chairman, IYC Central Zone, Mr. Amiebi Turner, said instead of assaulting innocent non-indigenes, the aggrieved persons should channel their energy towards finding and bringing the culprit to book.

    Turner said: “The IYC central zone wishes to condemn in totality the murder of a promising Ijaw daughter, while we also advise our youths to remain calm, peaceful and avoid acts that may disrupt the existing peace in the state.

    “We understand the pains, we feel the rage, but we advise against taking laws into your hands. As we push for moves aimed at apprehending the culprit and to restore order.

    “Since the incident, we have engaged security agencies to intensify hunt of the suspected murderer of our beloveth daughter, which they have promised to do, on our path, we owe the duty to provide useful informations.

    “The entire Ijaw youths in Central zone wishes to commiserate with the bereaved family and the entire Biogbolo – Epie community in the state capital, on this sad and painful loss, we pray God to give you all the fortitude to bear this great loss.

    “We also use this opportunity to advise security agencies to stop the chase and assault on youths of Biogbolo community, so as not to aggravate the situation but to rather employ diplomatic measures that will be void of martial law.

    “We condemn this dastardly and criminal act in very strong terms, but we must allow security agencies do their work to unravel the mystery behind this unjust killing. We also advise residents in the area to remain peace abiding and not see it as an ethnic or tribal issue, for crime is crime”.

    Turner commended the Caretaker Committee Chairman of Yenagoa, Mr. Oboku Oforji, for his timely intervention and advised traders and residents to go about their normal activities.

    Oboku also called on the people of Biogbolo-Epie community to be peaceful and law abiding insisting that efforts were ongoing to resolve the killing.

    Oboku, who spoke in after a meeting involving him, the police and the community chiefs at Biogbolo Town Hall, described the incident as “regrettable”.

    He said that a committee was set up to handle the matter with a view to bringing justice to the grieving family and the community.

    “We are working very hard, and we are gathering  more information. What we want to do is to see that justice is done by apprehending the culprit.

    “The committee has swung into action, and has started getting results only for violence to break out again today”, he said.

    But the council boss appealed to the Igbo traders in the community to stay away in the meantime, adding that “it will not be long we will ask them to  return and start their normal businesses.”

    “They (the Igbo traders) are aware that somebody died and it’s painful, and that is the reason why the shops should temporarily close down, and hopefully we will call them to return to their shops”, he said.

     

  • IYC crisis: Okrika convention is illegal – Omare Exco

    IYC crisis: Okrika convention is illegal – Omare Exco

    The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has discarded an ongoing convention by one of its factions in Okrika, Rivers state, as a gross violation of the law, admonishing all to disregard the process and its outcome.

    Spokesman of the IYC, Henry Iyalla, in a statement made available to journalists Saturday, said the apex Ijaw youth body had elected new executive council, the leader of which is Eric Omare as President, on the 2nd and 3rd of March, 2017, at a convention administered by its immediate past president, Udengs Eradiri, in Burutu town, Delta state.

    The statement further stated that the ongoing process in Okrika, being spearheaded by some former leaders of the body is illegal and futile because the constitution of the IYC mandates only an outgoing president to conduct the convention that will produce a new and succeeding executive council.

    “The IYC national leadership wishes to call on Ijaw youths and members of the public to completely disregard the purported election being called by some former leaders of the IYC.

    “The IYC has since the 2nd to 3rd of March, 2017 at BURUTU town, Delta State duly conducted elections into the National Executive Council at the instance of the then President and leader of the council, Udengs Eradiri. Udengs Eradiri had since handed over the leadership of IYC to Eric Omare as President.

    “We wish to state clearly that former leaders of IYC have no power whatsoever to call for a convention for the purpose of conducting elections into the IYC National Executive Council. We advise the few IYC former leaders involved to maintain their advisory role rather than assuming executive functions and becoming partisan.

    “It is also important to alert the reading public to know that whatever that is being planned or happening at Okrika, Rivers State is being done in flagrant disregard of the rule of law. The question of IYC leadership is already a subject of litigation before the Bayelsa State High Court and parties have been asked to maintain the status quo”, the statement said.

    The statement, however, called on security agencies to swing into action and ensure the that all parties respects the rule of law, adding that the Omare executive council believes in the peaceful resolution of all issues at stake

  • Buhari working for Niger Delta interest, says IYC

    Buhari working for Niger Delta interest, says IYC

    The new leadership of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Worldwide, Tuesday, said that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration was genuinely committed and willing to work for the interests of the Niger Delta region.

    The council led by Eric Omare said the youths in the region were elated at the recent directive by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo that International Oil Companies (IOCs) should relocate their headquarters to Niger Delta.

    The IYC in a statement signed by its Spokesman, Mr. Henry Iyalla, commended the Acting President for the directive and said it was one of the demands it presented to the Presidency in 2016.

    Iyalla said: “We hail the acting President for conceding to our demand. This move shows that the Muhamadu Buhari-led Federal Government is responsive, dedicated, and willing to work in the interest of the Niger Delta Region and Nigeria as a whole.

    “Furthermore, we wish to assure the IOC’s of the cooperation of host communities and our commitment to ensure a safe, secure, and conducive atmosphere for a smooth running of their operations.

    “Moving forward, we enjoin the Federal Government and the IOC’s to as a matter of necessity involve the IYC in its plans and arrangements towards the implementation of this exercise to enable us render our valued  contribution in decisions been made to ensure all parties are satisfied during the exercise.

    “We are committed to seeing the realization of this in the shortest possible time and enjoin the IOC’s to work within a time frame acceptable to the IYC”.