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Tag: IYC

  • IYC fumes over alleged victimisation of Ijaw professional divers

    IYC fumes over alleged victimisation of Ijaw professional divers

    The umbrella body of Ijaw youths worldwide, Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), has warned against plot by some individuals to embark on smear campaigns and devious acts capable of throwing the fold of the National Association of Professional Divers (NAPD) and its associates into crisis.

    The Chairman, IYC Central Zone, Comrade Perekosufa Ineife, alleged at a news conference in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, that some identified members of the NADP and their associates who are of Urhobo origin from Delta State were victimising, maligning and intimidating the legitimate leaders of Ijaw extraction in the NAPD.

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    Ineife warned them and their willing actors including diving companies and institutions, to desist from all further harassment, defamation and intimidation directed towards an Ijaw son, Mr Yamboizibe Dickson, the legitimate and rightful President of the NAPD and his associates.

    Ineife warned: “It has come to our attention that some persons from Urhobo in Delta State and their cronies have been engaged in a continuous pattern of behaviour designed to attack, blackmail and victimise our sons. This behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

  • IYC to Fed Govt: honour Isaac Boro as national hero

    IYC to Fed Govt: honour Isaac Boro as national hero

    The umbrella body of Ijaw youths, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, has called on the Federal Government to honour late Major Isaac Adaka Boro as a true Nigerian nationalist who died for the indivisibility of Nigeria in 1968 during the Biafra war.

    May 16th every year is set aside by Ijaws in Nigeria and in the Diaspora to celebrate the late Ijaw hero 56 years after.

    Speaking on Boro Day celebration, national spokesman for IYC, Amb. Binebai Yerin Princewill, said that as Ijaw people, late Boro means so much to them.

    He said Boro’s struggle for a better Niger Delta in the Nigerian state due to the many years of environmental injustice by the multinational oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region, unbridled marginalisation and the gross underdevelopment of the region and the Ijaw people by the Federal Government would continue to be a telling example in their struggle for resource control and self-determination in the Nigeria.

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    Princewill stated: “Considering the sacrifices of Boro who paid the supreme price by dying to protect Nigeria as one indivisible sovereign nation, it is the call of the IYC that the Federal Government of Nigeria should name critical facilities like international airports, a Federal Institution of learning and what have you after Boro. This is very important as we also recommend proper recognition of the Boro family, his children, wife and brothers by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

    “However, while the Bayelsa State Government over the years has continued to be a major financier of the Boro Day celebration, we are urging the Rivers, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Ondo, Imo and other Niger Delta governors to do same by massively supporting any move geared towards celebrating Boro and today this is the 56th Boro Day celebration with the theme tagged, ‘Honouring the Sacrifices of the Past; Embracing the Challenges of the Moment and Believing in the Future.’

    “Boro’s declaration of Niger Delta Republic in 1966 that is popularly known as the 12 days revolution made him a champion of the minority rights movement in Nigeria.

  • IYC, Egbesu, others applaud Tinubu for appointing Otuaro as PAP’s boss

    IYC, Egbesu, others applaud Tinubu for appointing Otuaro as PAP’s boss

    Some Ijaw groups including the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide have continued to applaud President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointing an illustrious Ijaw man, Dr. Dennis Burutu Otuaro, as the new administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).

    Other groups singing the praises of the President include the Apostle Bodmas Kemepadei-led Egbesu Brotherhood and an online publisher, Saint Onitsha Meinpamo.

    The IYC commended President Tinubu for not only finding Otuaro worthy of such appointments but for also listening to the yearnings of the Council and the Ijaw people in general.

    In a statement yesterday by the President, IYC, Sir Jonathan Lokpobiri Snr, and the group’s spokesman, Amb. Binebai Yerin Princewill, the umbrella body of Ijaw youths said with the appointment of Otuaro, Tinubu had shown that he is truly a listening president.

    The IYC said: “There is no iota of doubt that Dr. Dennis Burutu Otuaro is the perfect man for the job at this point in time that Nigeria needs committed and result-oriented leaders at the helms of affairs.

    “Otuaro is a tested and trusted leader in Niger Delta, a man who is well aware of the myriad of issues bedeviling the region and a known face who also played active role in the formation of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).

    “His appointment is significant in many ways: the IYC is optimistic that Otuaro will bring in his wealth of experience to sustain the gains recorded by previous administrators of the programme and also improve it in line with the current realities.

    “While the IYC is hopeful that Otuaro, who is deeply rooted in the Niger Delta struggle for a better living condition, will bring in a lot of reforms, we are sure that he will work closely with all critical stakeholders in the region to fully implement the aims and objectives of the programme.

    “This, to us, as Ijaw people, is one of the best appointments made by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu so far in his administration.”
    The IYC believed that Otuaro, as a man of the people, would operate an open door policy by carrying everyone along.

    “Once again, congratulations on your well-deserved appointment as the new administrator of PAP,” the council added.

    The leadership of the sociocultural group, Egbesu Brotherhood, led by its National Coordinator Apostle Bodmas Kemepadei, congratulated Otuaro’s appointment.

    In a statement yesterday in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, Kemepadei said they were overjoyed by the President’s appointment of Otuaro, described as an exponential personality of the Niger Delta struggle.

    He said that Otuaro’s appointment was well deserved, noting that they were confident that he would employ his wealth of knowledge in administration, leadership and creativity to reposition the PAP yet to meet the dreams and aspirations of its creation.

    Kemepadei said: “We express our gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for finding Dr. Dennis Otuaro worthy of the appointment to serve as administrator of the programme. It is indeed glaring that Tinubu has made a good choice and has implanted himself on the heart of the people of the region.

    “We have implicit confidence in the person and character of Otuaro to deliver quality service owing to his antecedents in public service.”

    Read Also: Contractors applaud Tinubu over road infrastructure, embrace payment method, concrete technology

    In a similar vein, the Chief Executive Officer Naija Live TV, Saint Onitsha Meipanmo, commended Tinubu for the appointment of Otuaro as the new Amnesty boss.

    Miepanmo also congratulated Otuaro, expressing optimism that the programme would have a facelift under his administration.

    Meinpanmo, also a Niger Delta activist and beneficiary of the PAP, noted that the reason for the amnesty programme had not been achieved based on alleged poor performance by the successive interim administrators in tackling the retraining and reintegration of the former ex-agitators to the society.

    The Bayelsa born popular blogger pleaded with the new Administrator to come up with measures that would reinstate the over 3,000 illegally delisted delegates of the programme for the interest of unity and oneness.

  • IYC kick as northern senator opposes Tinubu’s nomination

    IYC kick as northern senator opposes Tinubu’s nomination

    The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide has frowned at comments by Senator Suleiman Kawu kicking against the nomination of Mr. Oluwole Adama as the Executive Director of Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF) Governing Council, by President Bola Tinubu.

    The IYC also called on the immediate past Executive Director of the council, Mansur Kuliya Alkali, to stop parading himself as the holder of the position despite his removal by President Tinubu.

    The Secretary-General of the IYC worldwide, Maobuye Nangi Obu, in a statement in Port Harcourt, Rivers State particularly wondered why Senator Suleiman Kawu opposed the president’s nomination.

    Tinubu in a recent letter to the Senate requested the lawmakers to confirm Adama as the new boss of the MDGIF Governing Council.

    Read Also: Fubara’s victory at S’Court good for democracy, says IYC

    When the letter was read by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, Kawu, a Senator from Kano, faulted Tinubu’s nomination.

    But the IYC scribe in the statement described the actions of Alkali and Senator Kawu as an affront to the powers of the president, saying they were capable of instigating unrest within the critical sector.

    The youth leader insisted that the removal and appointment of any public office holder remained the prerogative of the President and within his constitutional powers.

    He said the nomination of Adama had caused celebration across the petroleum sector because of his vast experience and knowledge.

    He said Tinubu’s nomination of Adama, who hails from the Niger Delta showed that the President understood the issues of marginalization of the region in the oil and gas and was willing to address the imbalance.

    Obu said the simple reason Kawu was opposing the nomination was because he did not want anybody from the Niger Delta to hold such a position.

    He said: “It has come to our knowledge that a certain Mansur Kuliya Alkali is still parading himself as the Executive Director, of Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF) Governing Council. This development is coming even when President Bola Tinubu has made a fresh nomination for that office.

    “We have also heard the agitation of a Senator from Kano, Suleiman Kawu, kicking against the issue. These are all very misplaced actions and we condemn it as people of the Niger Delta.

    “We call on security agencies to call Alkali to order. We also call on the Senate not to be intimidated but to confirm Adama as requested by the President and Commander in Chief. This new nomination will go a long way to assuage the feeling of people of the region.”

  • IYC kicks against plot to replace PAP’s boss with non-Ijaw

    IYC kicks against plot to replace PAP’s boss with non-Ijaw

    The umbrella body of Ijaw youths, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, has kicked against an alleged plot by a cabal in the Presidency to replace the Interim Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Major General Barry Tariye Ndiomu (rtd.), with an Urhobo retired army general.

    The IYC said in a statement on Saturday by its spokesman, Amb. Binebai Yerin Princewill, after rising from a crucial meeting, said that they would resist such ‘dangerous’ moves to undermine the Ijaw ethnic nationality that fought vigorously for the formation of the Niger Delta Presidential Amnesty in 2009.

    He restated that the IYC, representing all the Ijaw youths in the world, would fight with everything at their disposal to resist the plot that the cabal in Aso Rock is plotting and trying to actualise, warning those who were surreptitiously making such plans to urgently retrace their steps.

    Princewill said: “While the IYC has its reservations on the Federal Government’s appointments with regard to Ijaw sons and daughters not being included in political appointments across the Niger Delta states as expected, we are not going to sit down and watch when people are trying to further undermine and undo the Ijaw people.

    “It is a known fact that the Ijaw sons and daughters have been carefully wiped out from heading ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs). They have done this in NNPCL by removing Engr. Adokiye Tombomieye, Vice President, Upstream of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited with a host of others. Today, no Ijaw son or daughter is holding any key offices in the MDAs. To us, this is not funny at all.

    “While the Ijaw people are grateful to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointing a highly distinguished and respected Ijaw leader, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri as Minister of Petroleum (State), we are also aware that the ministry has been balkanised to only Oil without Gas which was not the case in other administrations.

    “It is the statutory right of Bayelsa State to have a minister but the Federal Government butchered the ministry, limiting it to only Oil. If care is not taken, Lokpobiri might not be having the needed resources to perform to the expectations of his people and Nigeria at large.

    “The Federal Government of Nigeria, under late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, established the Niger Delta Presidential Amnesty Programme in 2009 as a programme to quell the rising armed agitations in the region that was solely championed by the Ijaw people across the region.

    “While there is no need for us to go into details on how Ijaws lost their lives and our communities and kingdoms levelled to the ground which was a clear case of genocide, our people were massacred mercilessly and ruthlessly. While we do not want to remind ourselves of these painful memories, it is our advice that the Federal Government of Nigeria should allow ‘sleeping dogs lie’.”

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    The spokesman said, however, that while the IYC, the largest youth movement in the region, would continue to push for a united Nigeria and a peaceful Niger Delta for which they would promote harmonious relationships with their neighbouring tribes in the region, they would not accept being sacrificed with almost no harvests.

    Princewill noted: “The PAP that was created to sustain the fragile peace in the region since 2009 is no doubt one of the reasons there is this level of peace in the region over the years because all the Niger Delta leaders are in tune with the ideals of the programme. Any attempt to alter the status quo will no doubt cause chaos in the region.

    “The Amnesty programme is too critical and sensitive to the Niger Delta people to be used to compensate friends politically. We know that President Bola Tinubu is a listening President hence he will not allow this impending doom to happen because it will surely be resisted by all means available to us as Ijaw people.

    “It is our collective resolve as Ijaw youths that those at the corridors of power should jettison whatever they are plotting concerning the replacement of Ndiomu with a non-Ijaw person.

    “It is morally correct that the Ijaws will continue to occupy that office because the Ijaws are the ones that solely championed the struggle that gave birth to the PAP that people are talking about today. It is still very fresh in our memories that at the heat of the agitation, other tribes were scared of associating with us for fear of being labelled as infidels.

    “As a Council, we received credible intelligence that some forces around President Tinubu in Aso Rock are deliberately withholding funds allocated to thw scheme thus making it seem like the Coordinator cannot work to actualise the objectives of the programme hence the plot to bring in their kinsman into the office as the Coordinator.”

  • IYC disagrees with Diri over commenton oil pipeline surveillance jobs

    IYC disagrees with Diri over commenton oil pipeline surveillance jobs

    Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide has disagreed with Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri over his recent comment saying the Navy, not private security firms, should protect oil pipelines in the Niger Delta.

    The body in a statement made available to reporters in Yenagoa yesterday said as a council, they saw the comment as unpatriotic and against the self-determination and resource control agenda of the youths’ body, as contained in the Kaiama Declaration of 1998.

    The statement by the IYC spokesman, Binebai Princewill, said the council could have ignored the remarks made by the highly respected Governor Diri through his deputy, Senator Ewhrudjakpo, but because such was coming out from Diri, an illustrious Ijaw son that was supposed to at all times protect the interests of the Ijaw, there was need to correct the wrong impression created before the Federal Government and Nigerians.

    Princewill said: “IYC Worldwide, the apex youth body in Ijaw and Niger Delta, is using this medium to praise the Federal Government for engaging firms for the protection of oil and gas facilities in the Niger Delta.

    “This is one of the best decisions taken so far by the Federal Government in recent times, as it is in line with the local content laws of the country.

    “While IYC will continue to agitate for resource control and more participation in the oil and gas industry, we want to state that the private firms, particularly Tantita Security Services Nigeria Ltd (TSSL) and other firms handling the surveillance jobs are all doing great professionally in collaboration with the relevant security agencies.

    “The NNPCL, the Federal Government of Nigeria and the entire Nigerian populace are aware that since Tantita and other private firms took over the surveillance contracts to secure the nation’s critical assets, oil production has increased, thereby making Nigeria more economically viable.

    Read Also: Ijaw unfairly treated in Delta, IYC alleges

    “Besides increased oil production in Nigeria following the engagement of these private firms, they have also created massive employment of thousands of Niger Delta youths into these companies to curb oil theft.

    “The level of employment created by these private firms in the region is unprecedented. IYC is in support of this initiative of the Federal Government. We should be aware that even countries around the world with notable best security architecture still employ the services of non-state actors like what the Federal Government is doing now.”

    The IYC spokesman lauded the private firms for effectively handling the pipeline surveillance contracts, saying the Council had confidence in them to continue to carry out their duties.

    Princewill said: “It is also our belief as a council that the Federal Government of Nigeria is on the right track for engaging these private firms.

    “We also demand that the Ijaw deserve more than mere pipeline surveillance contracts, as our people must be given the opportunity to participate in the oil and gas sector and ensure proper political inclusion of our people in government.”

  • Ijaw unfairly treated in Delta, IYC alleges

    Ijaw unfairly treated in Delta, IYC alleges

    The umbrella body of Ijaw youths, Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide, has claimed that the Ijaw and their communities in Delta State are neglected and unfairly treated by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori in every facet of socio-economic and political developments since his assumption of office over seven months ago.

    The IYC in a statement yesterday by its spokesman Amb. Binebai Yerin Princewill, after rising from the council’s meeting, demanded justice, equity and fairness in the distribution of infrastructures and political appointments, among others, in the state.

    He said the Ijaw would rise against actions from the government if it continued to undermine the collective growth of the Ijaw, noting that as the economic and political base of the state, the Ijaw deserved fair treatment in terms of development and reasonable political appointments.

    Princewill said the Ijaw could not solely be valued during elections and then neglected along with their communities afterward, warning that the inimical and tyrannical political thinking must stop, as the Ijaw could no longer put up with that kind of predatory political manipulation.  He claimed that they were beginning to see that the Oborevwori government was technically strangling and suffocating the Ijaw politically in the state.

    He said Delta is a multi-ethnic state, and any action by the governor, as the father of the state, must consider the ethnic indices, adding that failure to do so won’t be acceptable to the affected ethnic groups, as they are equally stakeholders in the state, especially the Ijaw. 

    Princewill said despite lauding Governor Oborevwori for approving N78billion for road construction and three flyovers in Warri and its surroundings, they were disappointed that Ijaw riverine communities and kingdoms had not received substantial projects despite being the producers of the oil sustaining Delta State’s economy. 

    He said the delay in projects such as the Ayakoromo bridge was disheartening, noting that practical actions and completion were needed. 

    Princewill said: “The Ijaw observe with concern the appointment of two commissioners in Warri North, both from the Itsekiri ethnic nationality, despite Warri North being dominated by the Ijaw of Egbema Kingdom and Itsekiri. This lopsided appointment, despite the governor winning in all Ijaw local governments, is seen as an insult to the Ijaw people’s sensibilities.

    “Equality in commissioner appointments is demanded; therefore, Burutu, Patani, Bomadi, and Warri South West local governments should each have two commissioners, mirroring the allocation in Warri North. No ethnic group should be treated as inferior in Delta State. Burutu, especially, already has one Federal Constituency and two House of Assembly seats. This should be looked into as soon as possible. 

    “Again, we bring to the attention of the governor that if we have Warri Uvwie and Environs Special Area Development Agency and Delta State Capital Territory Development Agency, the Ijaw call for the establishment of the Coastal Area Development Agency (CADA) as an executive Bill to benefit from resources generated from their areas. We refuse to continue to be marginalised.

    “Before our very eyes, three universities were established in Delta State. No one was sited in Ijaw areas, while polytechnics were upgraded to universities under former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa. Efforts to establish universities in Delta State without any in Ijaw areas have been noted. Temporary placement of faculties from these new universities in oil rich Ogulagha Kingdom is demanded as a form of temporary pacification until the future establishment of a university in Ogulagha Kingdom. 

    “The Delta State School of Marine Technology in Burutu requires urgent attention and declaration of a state of emergency for infrastructural development because of the deficit of neglect over the years to date.

    Read Also: IYC renews call for relocation of IOCs’ headquarters to Niger Delta

    “We are also informing the governor that we are aware that he is making plans to buy vehicles to ease transportation in urban areas. While the IYC is lauding the idea, we are also informing our governor that he should make arrangements to acquire ferry boats to ease transportation for our people living in the riverine communities, who majorly bear the brunt of this fuel hike. We will not accept anything other than this.” 

    The spokesman said having monitored the activities of the governor from May 29, 2023 to date, the Ijaw were yet to see any concrete achievement of the governor since he took over power, apart from his mere pronouncements, instead of physical manifestation of projects in all parts of the state.

  • IYC renews call for relocation of IOCs’ headquarters to Niger Delta

    IYC renews call for relocation of IOCs’ headquarters to Niger Delta

    Umbrella body of Ijaw youths, Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide, has renewed its call for the International Oil Companies (IOCs) to relocate their headquarters to the Niger Delta where their business activities are carried out, contrary to what is currently in place.

    The call is contained in a statement yesterday by the spokesman for the IYC, Amb. Binebai Princewill.

    He, therefore, urged the multinational oil companies operating in the region to begin to activate plans to relocate their headquarters to the region, noting that the Ijaw could not continue to accept that kind of injustice where ‘Peter is robbed to pay Paul’. 

    He argued that the IOCs could not milk oil from their soil and then be paying royalties to other states that don’t produce oil and gas, demanding that the people of the Niger Delta must be treated fairly and must be allowed to participate fully in the oil and gas sector. 

    “We must get our due benefits and not the usual crumbs. We must renegotiate the modus operandi of the oil companies with particular regards to the well-being of the Ijaw and Niger Delta people that are hosting these companies,” the IYC spokesman said. 

    Princewill also reiterated IYC’s call for fiscal federalism, recalling that 25 years after the formation of the Council through the Kaiama Declaration on December 11, 1998, fiscal federalism for all federating units in Nigeria to control resources in their region had always been part of the Ijaw struggle for self-determination and resource control. 

    He noted: “Ijaw people and ‘Niger Deltans’ cannot continue to be exploited politically and economically in the Nigerian state without justice. As Nigeria is talking about sustainable peace, we should be talking about sustainable justice.” 

    “Today, in Zamfara and other states, they are mining gold and the proceeds from gold are not being shared as the Federal Government has always kept mute over this grave injustice, while our oil and gas is made public. 

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    “These are some of the anomalies that need to be corrected if we are to really move forward as a country. If our oil and gas can be shared across the country, why can’t the gold be shared? It is only fiscal federalism that can lay to rest this economic and political imbalance.”

    He equally harped on the implementation of the 2014 National Conference (Confab) Report, saying that Nigeria still has an unfinished business with the 2014 Confab where a lot of far-reaching positions on how to move the country forward were considered. 

    Princewill said: “Nigeria has been wobbling with a lot of challenges that at certain points even threaten our very survival as a nation. It is no longer news that Nigeria as a multi ethnic country needs to be renegotiated by all. 

    “A renegotiated Nigeria for which the plights of the minorities are taken into consideration and a constitution for all is what the 2014 National Conference (Confab) report stands for. Nigeria is not likely to make any reasonable progress if the Confab report is not implemented. 

    “A simple implementation of the 2014 Confab will lay to rest almost all the woes bedevilling Nigeria. It contains the master plan for Nigeria’s development.”

    He promised that the IYC would continue to work closely with security agencies and other critical stakeholders in the region to foster peace and unity in the region and in Nigeria.

    He, however, tasked the military and other security agencies to always be professional in dealing with the Niger Delta communities, as the people had witnessed too much bombardments of the defenceless communities in the region.

  • IYC marks 25 years of existence

    IYC marks 25 years of existence

    The umbrella body of Ijaw youths, Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide, yesterday rolled out the drums to celebrate 25th anniversary (silver jubilee) of the Kaiama declaration- cum-the formation of the vibrant IYC.

    All roads led to Bayelsa State, the centre of gravity of the Ijaw nation, where the national headquarters of the IYC is located, as Ijaw youths within the country and in the diaspora converged on Izon House in Yenagoa to celebrate.

    Many activities, including news conference, foundation laying ceremony/unveiling of IYC secretariat, laying of rites of Ijaw fallen heroes, public lectures, launching of IYC data base, among others, were lined up for the three-day event to celebrate the 25th anniversary by the 9th executive of the IYC led by Comrade Jonathan Lokpobiri Snr.

    Speaking at a news briefing yesterday, spokesman for the IYC, Amb. Binebai Princewill, said the Kaiama declaration was issued by the IYC on December 11, 1998 to attribute the political crisis in Nigeria to the struggle for the control of oil mineral resources.

    He asserted that the degradation of the environment of Ijawland by transnational oil companies and the Nigerian state arose mainly because the Ijaw had been robbed of their natural rights to ownership and control of their land and resources. 

    Princewill said: “The council was formed in the town of Kaiama after 5,000 Ijaw people representing over 40 Ijaw clans, chose to articulate their aspirations for the Ijaw people, and to demand an end to 40 years of environmental damage and underdevelopment.

    Read Also: IYC fumes over ‘political attack’ on Fubara

    “The assurance from the 9th NEC is that we are going to consolidate the achievements recorded by previous administrations of council as we are going to improve on the gains recorded so far.”

    “We are very grateful to the founding fathers of the council and our dear leaders that have contributed a lot for the continued growth and survival of the council.”

    He said IYC under the leadership of Lokpobiri was determined to change the narrative of the Ijaw struggle by introducing intellectual dimensions in tandem with contemporary realities.

    Said he: “Today, on behalf of the entire 9th National Executive Council (NEC) of the Ijaw Youth Council, as part of activities marking 25 years of Kaiama declaration-cum-Ijaw Youth Council, we are fortunate and highly lucky to be part of those that are championing the 25 years existence of Ijaw Youth Council-cum-Kaiama declaration. 

    “While we are grateful to the Ijaw nation for entrusting us with the leadership of council, we want to reassure the Ijaw that we will not renege on our quest to deliver a purposeful leadership to the Ijaw. 

    “In view of delivering a purposeful leadership to Ijaw nation, the 9th NEC led by Jonathan Lokpobiri Snr is doing everything possible to deliver on its campaign promises. 

    “We are glad to announce to Ijaw nation that we will be doing the foundation laying ceremony of the Ijaw Youth Council global secretariat here in Yenagoa that has never happened before. 

    “For us, we cannot be saying we are IYC Worldwide, but all our activities will be revolving around Nigeria alone, hence we have taken issues of the Ijaw to a global space wherein the 9th NEC has taken steps to take our people to Ghana, Kenya and Dubai for a global Climate and Plastic Pollution conferences that have affected our environment gravely. 

    “Nevertheless, the 25 years celebration of Kaiama declaration, which gave birth to the 25 years celebration of IYC, is very key and important to us as Ijaw people, hence we felt that it is very crucial for us to meet again after 25 years to review where we are coming from, where we are and where we ought to be.”

  • IYC seeks more advocacy for energy transition, global partnership

    IYC seeks more advocacy for energy transition, global partnership

    To mitigate environmental degradation in the Niger Delta region, there is need to intensify advocacy for a cleaner energy transition in Nigeria, the President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, Sir Jonathan Lokpobiri, has said.

    He stated this during deliberations with the former Vice President of the United States of America, Al Gore, on mutual areas of cooperation on climate change as it affects the oil-rich region, at the just concluded Climate Reality Leadership Training held in Accra, Ghana.

    A statement by the IYC spokesman, Amb. Princewill Binebai, Friday, disclosed that the event which held between November 13 to 15 was organised by the Chief Executive Officer, Climate Reality Project and ex-USA VP, Gore.

    Speaking on the sidelines, Lokpobiri x-rayed possible areas of collaboration to tackle the environmental problems bedeviling the Niger Delta as a result of oil and gas exploitation and the need to create more awareness for corner energy transformation.

    Read Also: IYC hails Tinubu’s triumph at Supreme Court

    He further thanked the Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Samuel Ogbuku for supporting the Nigerian delegation to actively participate in the event.

    Responding, the American politician expressed satisfaction with the “visible commitment” he witnessed by the cluster of Nigerian delegation.

    He assured of his continued support and possible flag-off of a climate change programme in Nigeria.

    Lokpobiri led members of the IYC ninth national executive council and other critical youth leaders and stakeholders from across Nigeria to participate in the programme which had Mr. Muhammed Adow, Prof. Chukwumereji Okereke among other renowned global green energy advocates, as panelists.