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Tag: IYC

  • Crisis rocks IYC as chairman ‘escapes death’ in Bayelsa

    Crisis is rocking the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), Central Zone, following alleged attempts on the lives of the zone’s Chairman, Tare Porri and some elders in Yenagoa, the state capital.

    Porri, yesterday, said he survived an attempt on his life by the Vice-Chairman of the council, Amiebi  Turner and some of his loyalists, who invaded the venue of a peace meeting convened by the elders in council.

    Briefing journalists at his office in Izon House yesterday, Porri said his deputy stormed the venue of the meeting with bus loads of hoodlums and held him and other elders at gunpoint.

    He said properties belonging to the Chairman of the Elders Advisory Council, Mike Wenibowei, who provided the venue for the meeting were destroyed while the entire area was raided raided with valuables carted away.

    Wenibowei,  former Chairman of the IYC, confirmed the incident and said he saw the thugs holding at least three guns adding that the invaders caused panic in the area through many gunshots they fired into the air.

    Wenibowei said it took the intervention of security forces to calm the situation.

    Turner and his loyalists were said to be angry  following an alleged plan  by Porri to handover to one of his supporters before leaving his chairmanship to contest the State House of Assembly seat for Ekeremor Constituency 1 in Bayelsa.

    It was gathered that the thugs attacked and beat up two policemen, including an inspector sent to serve an invitation from the Commissioner of Police in the state Don Awunah, to the suspects in Ogboloma.

    The policemen were reportedly hospitalized after the thugs descended and vented their anger on them.

    The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Asinim Butswat, confirmed the attack on the security operatives, but said he needed a detailed briefing to get the facts of the matter.

    “I am aware, I just want to get detailed explanation before I talk to you”, he said.

    Porri said he was saved by the intervention of his security aide and the malfunctioning of the locally-made pistol when his deputy pulled the trigger.

    He said: “The Treasurer tried to hit me and when I dodged, I saw Amiebi trying to pull the trigger and the gun did not respond. Immediately I used my last strength to hit him and I don’t know how I got out. He still followed me and was aiming at me before my security detail faced him and that was how I escaped being assassinated.

    “ They raided the whole street with all their valuables. As I address you, even my phone is still with him and they have vowed to kill me , my wife and my children and they will burn down my house,”, he said.

    Porri called on the Inspector General of Police, the Commander, Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta, the police, Director of the Department of State Services in the state and other security agencies to come to his aid.

    “ My life and those of my lieutenants are in serious danger. These hoodlums have vowed to eliminate us. They feel the only way to take over leadership of the IYC is by killing all of us. I have reported to the security agencies”, he added.

    Porri named others who attacked him as Beledayon Barracks, Juliana Okpu and Daniel Perebi, who are also members of the executive committee of the IYC.

    But Turner denied all the allegations describing them as malicious and fallacious and asked the public to disregard the claims.

    He said: “The allegations  that I mobilise thugs to disrupt meeting, held a gun, and all that and fabricated. I wish the general public to disregard these allegations leveled against me because it was built and watered on falsehood.

    “I was not invited for the conflict resolution  meeting with the Chairman and other stakeholders of Council,but i got the information and went there to make my stand and raise critical issues that could lead to crisis in the zonal leadership.

    “We had series of argument which resulted in reactions by some followers of Porri and, which I find condemable in strong terms. I had to run for my life because  I was targeted. I never held a gun or involved in any uproar”.

     

  • IYC Condemns Killing of 3 Soldiers in Bayelsa

    The Oweilaemi Pereotubo-led Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, has condemned the ambush and killing of three soldiers in the Ekeremor council area of Bayelsa state.
    It would be recalled that a gang of suspected waterway robbers had in the early hours of last Sunday ambushed and killed three operatives of the Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Delta Safe (OPDS) around Letugbene creek, Ekeremor.
    The apex body of Ijaw youths, in a statement signed by its Spokesman, Daniel Dasimaka, described the incidence as a disgrace and betrayal of the Ijaw nation and the Niger Delta in general, which must be condemned by all lovers of peace and the development of the region.
    According to Dasimaka “the executives and members of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) worldwide, wish to unequivocally condemn this barbaric, vile, bestial and savage killing of three innocent and gallant soldiers by suspected buccaneers on the Tunu flow station, owned by the Shell Petroleum Development Company along the Letugbene waterways in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
    “ We Ijaws are totally against Sea piracy and all forms of criminality by these villainous foes of the peace and progress of the Ijaw ethnic nationality.
    These bloodthirsty cowards who obviously run into hiding after carrying out their wickedness leaving innocent nearby communities to suffer the brunt for their actions are the enemies of our land that all Ijaws and lovers of the Ijaw nation must unite to utterly annihilate.
    While pledging the total support of the IYC to all efforts by the JTF and  Military Headquarters, aimed at fishing out the killers, the statement further urged the military to carry out its search operations with utmost professionalism in order not to incur needless collateral damage in the form of the molestation, harassment and attacks on innocent law abiding citizens of the community and area.
    “We urge the military to resist the temptation to invade Bilabiri and Letugbene communities and other Ijaw communities, as it has been rumoured, in their bid to find the killers.
    “Already, we have been inundated with distress calls from indigenes of Bilabiri and Letugbene communities informing the Council that soldiers visited their communities on the 19th June, 2018 and warned that they should provide some purported suspects who are alleged to have hailed from the two communities within three days or they will burn down the two communities. We gathered residents have started deserting the two communities to nearby bushes out of fear. This should not be”, the statement warned.

  • IYC condemns killing of soldiers in Bayelsa

    The Oweilaemi Pereotubo-led Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) on Thursday condemned the killing of three soldiers in Ekeremor local government area of Bayelsa State.

    A gang of suspected robbers had in the early hours of Sunday ambushed and killed three operatives of the Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Delta Safe (OPDS), around Letugbene creek in Ekeremor.

    IYC, in a statement signed by its spokesman, Daniel Dasimaka, described the incident as a disgrace and betrayal of the Ijaw nation and the Niger Delta in general.

    He said: “The executives and members of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) worldwide, wish to unequivocally condemn this barbaric, vile, bestial and savage killing of three innocent and gallant soldiers by suspected buccaneers on the Tunu flow station, owned by the Shell Petroleum Development Company along the Letugbene waterways in Ekeremor local government area of Bayelsa State.

    “We Ijaws are totally against sea piracy and all forms of criminality by these villainous foes of peace and progress of the Ijaw ethnic nationality.

    “These bloodthirsty cowards who obviously run into hiding after carrying out their wickedness leaving innocent nearby communities to suffer the brunt for their actions are the enemies of our land that all Ijaws and lovers of the Ijaw nation must unite to utterly annihilate.

    “We urge the military to resist the temptation to invade Bilabiri and Letugbene communities and other Ijaw communities, as it has been rumoured, in their bid to find the killers.

    “Already, we have been inundated with distress calls from indigenes of Bilabiri and Letugbene communities informing the Council that soldiers visited their communities on June 19, 2018 and warned that they should provide some purported suspects who were alleged to have hailed from the two communities within three days or they will burn down the two communities. We gathered residents have started deserting the two communities to nearby bushes out of fear. This should not be.”

  • 2018 Budget: NASS is Insensitive, Self-serving – IYC

    The Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) has described the alterations made to the 2018 Budget by the National Assembly as self-serving and against national interest.

    In a statement signed by its National President, Eric Omare, the IYC took particular exception to the reduction of initial funds earmarked by the Executive for the takeoff of the Nigerian Maritime University (NMU), Okorenkoko and the all-important East/West Road, which are considered as key to the sustenance of peace in the Niger Delta.

    According to the youths, the action of the National Assembly has depicted its members as insensitive, noting that the lawmakers had consistently showed itself as a gathering of people opposed to the well-being of people of the region.

    It, however, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to waste no time in sending a supplementary budget to the National Assembly, which would make up for the mutilations in the original appropriation bill sent to the lawmakers.

    IYC said: “We consider the action of the National Assembly as insensitive and retrogressive to the development of the country. It is utter selfishness for the National Assembly to reduce the budget proposal for key developmental initiatives and increased the budget for their personal cost when they are supposed to reduce their recurrent expenses. We condemn this action by the National Assembly. The National Assembly demonstrated selfishness and arrogated their personal interest over and above the national interest which they were elected to serve.

    “It would be recalled that the immediate take-off of the Nigerian Maritime University, Delta State, was one of the key agreements reached between the leaders of the Niger Delta region and the federal government towards returning peace back to the region. It was in furtherance of this agreement that N5billion naira was budgeted for the take-off of the university which we the stakeholders in the Niger Delta region consider grossly inadequate because of the difficult terrain where the university is sited. The Nigeria Maritime University, Delta State, needs a lot of money for it to find its footing, especially at this initial stage of its existence in developing key physical infrastructure and engagement of qualified personnel to run the university.”

     

     

  • IYC to Buhari: probe military killings in Bayelsa

    The  Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide yesterday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to order full investigations into the military operations that led to the killings of innocent indigenes of Oluasiri community in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

    A mother, her six-month-old baby, and two other persons were reportedly killed by soldiers during the military operations, which were launched to dislodged suspected militants hiding in the community.

    Reacting to the killings, the Chairman, IYC, Central Zone, Mr. Tare Porri, described the invasion as a provocative action and accused the military of bias.

    He said the military was waging wars against the Niger Delta, the Ijaw people, to control the region’s oil, sustain Nigeria’s unjust unitary structure and resist calls for restructuring.

    Porri noted that the invasion of Oluasiri community would heighten tensions in the region and potentially lead to “a full-blown seige” capable of destabilising the country and the already existing peace created by Governor Seriake Dickson.

    He said: “The military has insulted us to provoke war in our land. We call on the Federal Government to apologise without delay for this infantile act of deliberate provocation.

    “This wanton act is an action against the laws of human rights and a threat to democracy. We kick against the logic of civility in a supposed free society to deploy overwhelming weapons and personnel of warfare against a peaceful community within the ambit of non-violence.

    “President Muhammadu Buhari, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, must be held accountable for the military’s actions. There could be no justifiable excuses why soldiers would invade and murder an innocent baby and others.”

    Porri urged the military to desist from trying to silence Ijaw people.

     

     

  • Water Resources Bill may renew hostilities in Niger Delta – IYC

    The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide has said the Water Resources Executive Bill currently on the floor of the National Assembly (NASS), is capable of renewing hostilities between the federal government and people of the Niger Delta region.

    Speaking at a press conference centred on the state of the nation in Warri, Delta State yesterday, Oweilaemi, described the bill as another “neo-colonisation” ploy of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration against the oil-rich region.

    Stating that the group will do all within its powers to resist the bill, he called on the NASS to either reject it “out rightly or, remove the clauses that seek to control the surface and groundwater resources including river beds and banks.”

    The Ijaw Youths’ president further stated that issues relating to water resources management be left under the control of state governments.

    “On the water resources executive Bill currently in the NASS, the position of IYC is that the said Bill is another neo-colonisation agenda by the federal government to annihilate and subjugate the destinies of the Niger Delta people thereby subjecting the people to eternal colony. We reject the Bill in its entirety as it will only end up causing disaffection between the Niger Delta people and the federal government.

    “We have perused the spirits and letters of the said Bill clause by clause. There is nothing in the proposed law that will benefit the Niger Delta people. This is a clear departure from the sacred constitutional requirements of enacting laws which are for the public good, public morality and public safety. A Bill that is designed to divest the people of natural resources in their domains cannot bring peace and good governance to the people.

    “IYC therefore is of the view that the National Assembly should as a matter of public good and for the sake of our corporate coexistence reject the Bill. The management of the water resources should be left with the states. We on our own part will do everything humanly position within the ambit of the law to resist the passage of the Bill. We do not want a repeat of history in the region. This is a surreptitious means to reintroduce the botched cattle colony. Niger Delta people will resist it even with the last drop of our blood,” Oweilaemi said.

    Remarking on the staggering compliance of the sit-at-home order of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB), he re-echoed calls for the implementation of fiscal federalism and resource control.

    Other issues the IYC harped on was the quick passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, with its initial 10% equity share for oil communities and the relocation of oil multinationals’, including Shell Petroleum Development Company, corporate headquarters to the Niger Delta.

     

  • IYC partners INEC for increased voters’ population in Niger Delta

    IYC partners INEC for increased voters’ population in Niger Delta

    The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide is disturbed by voters’ population in the Niger Delta. The pressure group has stepped up its campaign to increase the voting strength of the region following its belief that Niger Delta’s development depends largely on the outcome of general elections.

    The argument is that the political relevance of a region is determined by its voting population and an enhanced voter register is a bargaining chip for development. To achieve this, the Oweilami Peretubo-led IYC has initiated a strategy to get all stakeholders involved in the campaign. The group needs the support of INEC authorities in the region.

    Recently, the Ijaw youth leadership took its sensitisation to Dr. Ntui Richard, the Acting Chairman and Administrative Secretary of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Rivers State. The delegation of IYC was led by its Spokesman, Mr. Daniel Dasimaka. He led the group’s National Treasurer, Clan chairmen from the Eastern Zone and some representatives of civil society organisations (CSO’s) to meet the electoral umpire.

    Dasimaka said the meeting with INEC was successful. He said the initiative was part of IYC concerns for improved voter awareness and stop electoral violence in the region. He said the group discussed issues that would enhance the ongoing continuous voter registration such as registration outlets, schedules and time in various states in the region. He said armed with such knowledge IYC would be able to direct the people adequately.

    He said the group also intended to partner with INEC to adequately deploy required tools, men, machine and materials for swift registration process. He said it was also the desire of IYC to spearhead a high turnout of eligible voters all communities of the region through voter education, awareness campaign and mass mobilisation.

    Dasimaka further said IYC appealed for a collaborative relationship with INEC to ensure that its officials have unfettered access to communities in the voter registration without threats, harassment or intimidation during and after the exercise.

    He said: “We are happy to be at the INEC office to forge a new relationship with them. We believe this is a partnership that is good for the peace and progress of our people.”

    Richard hailed the IYC for its support for the ongoing continuous voter’s registration exercise and awareness campaign against violent conducts during elections in the Niger Delta.

    He described the IYC as a long-standing youth group well known for its vocal leadership and positive role as a non-partisan socio-cultural organisation.

    He said the commission appreciated the efforts of the IYC in stabilising the Niger Delta region and the Southsouth.

    “We are delighted that the IYC is ready to collaborate with INEC because this is exactly what we have been looking out for from people and organisations who are interested in what INEC is doing,” he said.

    Richard, however, urged the Ijaw youths to take their campaign a step further by calling on already-registered voters to collect their Permanent Voter Card (PVCs). He also asked them to engage the youths and educate them against violent conducts during and after the elections.

     

  • IYC: 2020 deadline to stop gas flaring must be sacrosanct

    IYC: 2020 deadline to stop gas flaring must be sacrosanct

    Ijaw youths are not happy that gas flaring still goes on in the Niger Delta. They want the practice stopped. Indeed, they are angry that oil companies are still flaring gas in their territory despite sustained global campaigns to end the practice.

    However, the youths under the auspices of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Worldwide, appreciates efforts of the Federal Government to end gas flaring in 2020. The Perotubo Oweilami-led IYC appealed to the government and oil multinationals to work together and ensure the realisation of the deadline.

    The Spokesman of the group, Mr. Daniel Dasimaka, told the Niger Delta Report that the youths were monitoring the development and would not tolerate gas flaring beyond 2020. “Despite efforts to curb gas flaring in Nigeria, the issue remains a major problem, bedeviling the Niger Delta people”, he said.

    He said that poor regulation and poor oil field practices led to environmental, health, social and security problems in the Niger Delta region and the country. Apart from the economic wastage in flaring, it also contributed significantly to global warming.

    “To this end, the IYC worldwide is calling on the Federal Government to stop Gas flaring in the Niger Delta”, he said, calling on the government to ensure the success of the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialization Programme (NGFCP).

    He described the NGFCP as  part of the National Gas Policy approved in June, 2017 and domiciled in the office of the of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ministry of Petroleum Resources (MPR), and the National Gas Policy approved in June, 2017.

    He said: “The Federal Government should effectively utilize the commercial benefits of the gas that is being flared in the region, premised on the fact that gas flare reduction is amongst the solutions in government programmes for improving the environmental, health, social, economic and security problems in the Niger Delta region.

    “Additionally, the IYC applauds the strong political will to harness these gas resources and end flaring by 2020. Specifically, the government ratification of the Paris Climate Change Agreement (PCCA), is an indication of its seriousness in this regard”.

    He pointed out that the agreement included gas flaring reduction as Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions mitigation in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). He said the country has also shown commitment to the environment through her recent signatory to the Global Gas Flaring Partnership (GGFR) principles for global flare-out (Zero Routine Flaring Reduction) 2030 Initiative and had agreed to a national flare-out target by year 2020.

    Dasimaka reminded the government that the people of the region had not forgotten the its Niger Delta Strategic Implementation Work Plan. He urged the Federal Government to take advantage of some provisions in the Petroleum Act.

    He said the Petroleum Minister could invoke Sections 9 and 11 of the Act in the interest of the public to allow the government the rights to take all flare gas free of cost and without payment of royalty in line with Paragraph 35(b)(i) First Schedule of the Petroleum Act.

    The spokesman further advised the government to ensure that all flares taken by the Government are subjected to competitive and transparent bids in line with the NGFCP framework without politicising it.

    Dasimaka said: “IYC is also calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to quickly sign into law the, ‘Flare Gas (Prevention of Waste and Pollution) Regulation 2017’, which will underpin the implementation of the government’s gas flare-out programme.

    “To ensure the success of the NGFCP, the IYC is calling on all oil multinationals to wholeheartedly support these laudable government initiatives since this is the first of its kind and of this magnitude globally.

    “As a caveat, the IYC further assert that it will henceforth monitor the government’s gas flare programme and in particular how much support and cooperation the oil producing companies are giving the programme.

    “If the IYC finds out that the oil companies are playing the Ostrich and sit-on-the fence approach, they will mobilize against any oil company found and/or seen to make the NGFCP a failure.

    “There is no gainsaying that gas flaring has impacted negatively on the environment and health of the people of the Niger Delta for over five decades. This was one of the major reasons behind the Kaiama Declaration of 1998.

    “It has been ignored so far and it has impacted negatively on the National Interest of Nigeria. Presently, there are over 178 gas flare sites in the country, mainly Niger Delta, that flare over 800million standard cubic feet (mmscuf/d) of gas daily.

    “This is a huge loss of revenue, employment generation opportunities and power generation inputs to Nigeria. According to our research, the country needs less than $4bn worth of investment to stop gas flaring and meet its gas commercialisation targets by 2020.

    “This is why we are calling on the Federal Government to make the investment to stop gas flaring in Nigeria in pursuit of our national interest. It is unthinkable that majority of households in Nigeria and the Niger Delta in particular still use kerosene and/or fire woods for their cooking needs when we waste this amount of gas daily.”

    He further implored the government to give opportunity to Niger Delta youths and communities to participate in the programme in line with the goal of the NGFCP in a competitive open bidding process.

    “Undoubtedly, the bulk of gas flaring is substantial, and is capable of powering hundreds of thousands of Nigerians’ homes as well as industrial areas with electricity access yearly.”

     

  • Former IYC President escapes herdsmen’s bullets in Delta

    Former IYC President escapes herdsmen’s bullets in Delta

    Former President of the Ijaw Youths Council ( IYC ), Dr Chris Ekiyor, Wednesday evening reportedly escaped death narrowly when suspected Fulani herdsmen reportedly riddled his car with bullets along the East/West Road, around Evwreni Community, Ughelli council area of Delta state.

    Ekiyor, who was also a commissioner in the Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan administration in the state, was said to be on his way to his Patani country home when two armed men, believed to be Fulani herdsmen, emerged suddenly and took aim at his car.

    It was gathered that the former Ijaw youth leader managed to escape the scene of the attack because he was driving a bullet proof vehicle. The attack occurred between 6:30pm to 6:40pm.

    Describing his experience to journalists during a briefing in Patani Thursday evening, Ekiyor expressed strong conviction that his attackers were Fulani herdsmen, explaining that his experience with people in different parts of the country is vivid and could not have mistaken the identities of his attackers.

    “I was returning to Patani from Asaba when around Evwreni, just outside Ughelli town, I came under attack by these men dressed in the attires of northerners, they brought out their guns and started shooting at my car. The bullets took out two of my tires.

    “I managed to escape to one of the communities around. The nearest police roadblock had been deserted and neither was I able to get any cooperation from the DPO of the area, who said there was no vehicle to deploy”, he explained.

    He, however called on President Muhammadu Buhari to quickly and seriously tackle the worsening Fulani herdsmen violence across the country before it consumes the country, charging him to look beyond partisan and ethnic interests.

    Also reacting to the development,  factional President of the IYC, Eric Omare, in a statement signed by the body’s spokesman, Henry Iyalla, charged President Buhari to act fact, noting that the security situation across the country is already spiraling out of control.

    “The attack on Dr. Ekiyor, a former Commissioner in Delta State is just a reflection of the general security situation in different parts of the country. It would be recalled that prominent Nigerians such as Chief Olu Falae, travellers along the Benin to Lagos road and other parts of the country have been subjects of attacks in recent times.

    “The security situation in all parts of the country is degenerating and calls for urgent actions by the federal government to arrest the situation. The gradual arms buildup in different parts of the country towards the 2019 elections is worrisome and make lead to a full blown war if urgent steps are not taken.

    “It is totally unacceptable to private citizens from a section of the country to have access to guns and using it to main and kill others without commiserate response by the federal government.

    “The IYC therefore call on President Buhari and the relevant security agencies to take drastic steps to stop the slide in the nation’s security before the situation get out of hand and result in unnecessary war in Nigeria”, he said.

  • IYC urges Buhari to end bloodshed

    IYC urges Buhari to end bloodshed

    The Eric Omare-led Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide, yesterday appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to stop bloodshed by suspected herdsmen and cultists.

    The spokesman, Mr. Henry Iyalla, in a statement said it was unacceptable for such killings to occur under a government that swore to protect life and property.

    The statement said: “We express our displeasure over mass killings of innocent Nigerians in Southern Kaduna, Taraba and Benue State on a continual basis by suspected herdsmen and killings in other parts of the country.”

    Iyalla said it was disheartening to see that while the killings continued, the Federal Government played politics with security.

    He said: “We note with dismay how the President Buhari-led Federal Government is quick to act, proscribe and deploy the military in the South, especially Niger Delta, when it comes to issues relating to agitations in the region by Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Niger Delta militants.

    “But the Federal Government becomes speechless, deaf and confused when Fulani militants, a group, which according to the Global Terrorism Index, is the fourth deadliest terrorist group in the world, goes on killing innocent Nigerians.

    “The Federal Government has failed in its primary duty of protecting the life and property of citizens as enshrined in the 1999 constitution, United Nations Charter and African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.”

    Iyalla said the government should not be seen as applying double standard in addressing security.

    He said the government should live up to its responsibility of protecting life and property, no matter the region and group involved.

    Iyalla condemned the murder at Omoku in Ogba/Egbema Ndoni Local Government of Rivers State by suspected cultists.

    He said the killers were not strangers to the government, adding that incessant killings in Andoni Local Government and at Abonnema in Akuku-Toru Council, including criminal acts, were indications that the government had failed in its primary duty of protecting life and property.