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Tag: IYC

  • IYC to A’Ibom governor: Stop attacks on Ijaws

    IYC to A’Ibom governor: Stop attacks on Ijaws

    The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) on Monday urged the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, to urgently stop the incessant killings, unlawful eviction and continuous displacement of Ijaw communities in Eastern Obolo local government area of the state.

    IYC factional President, Mr. Eric Omare, described the alleged attacks on the Ijaw people of Amazaba as “an attack on all Ijaw people of Nigeria from Apoi in Ondo State to Ibeno in Akwa Ibom State.”

    Omare, in a statement made available to The Nation, said the IYC would not sit back and allow Ijaw people and communities go into extinction, adding “Governor Emmanuel must act fast before the situation degenerate into a full blown Ijaw and Ibibio inter-ethnic crisis.”

    He said at least eight Ijaw communities under the Amazaba federated Communities namely –  Ama-Uka, Amangbauji, Ozugbo, Okorobilom, Bethlehen, Ayama, Ama-Nglass and Okoromobolo  – have been displaced by communal and inter-ethnic disputes with the Ikot Akpan Udo people who are of Ibibio origin in Ikot Abasi local government area of Akwa Ibom.

    “The Ikot Akpan Udo people, who are of the majority Ibibio tribe, murdered several Ijaw people including a traditional ruler/village head of Ama-Uka village, Chief (Uboon) Sunday Oron Eli, in 2008,” Omare said.

    While saying that several Ijaw people now live as exiles, the IYC president appealed to the state government to exercise its mandate by protecting all its citizens whether minority or majority from violent attacks.

  • IYC: attacks on southerners in the North ‘ll be retaliated

    The Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) has warned that attacks on southerners in the North will be retaliated on northerners living in the South.

    IYC Factional President Eric Omare, who reacted in a statement yesterday to the failure of the Federal Government and security agencies to pay attention to the hate song against the Igbo, reportedly circulated in the North, urged southerners to be vigilant.

    He alleged that the refusal of northern youths coalition to rescind its October 1 quit notice to the Igbo, the circulating of hate song and the silence of the Federal government on the development were indications that northern elements were bent on killing southerners.

    The statement said: “Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide calls on the Federal Government and security agencies to act fast and stop those propagating hate songs in the North against the Igbo before it leads to unnecessary killing of southerners in the North. The news of a song calling for the killing of the Igbo in the North has been reported by newspapers. However, it is sad to note that the government and security agencies have failed to act.

    “The deliberate refusal of the government and security agencies to take action against conducts by northern elements, which threaten national security, is emboldening these persons to continue their activities.

    “It is unfortunate that security agencies that should have invited reputable Nigerians of southern extraction for comments have turned a deaf ear to issues that threaten the survival of the country.

    “The hate song circulating in the North is worrisome, considering the insistence by northern youths that the Igbo should leave the North by October 1. The coalition of northern youths’ quit notice, coupled with the hate song and the deliberate refusal by the Federal Government to act, indicates that elements in the North have made up their minds to kill southerners in the North. This is highly condemnable and unacceptable.

    “IYC urges southerners living in the North to be vigilant in the days ahead and warns that any attack on southerners will be retaliated.

    “The Federal Government must know that considering the fragile state of the nation, Nigeria may not survive inter-regional or inter-ethnic killings. Acting President Yemi Osinbajo must act now to save the country.”

  • IYC slams Fed Govt for high port charges

    The national executive of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide has condemned the Federal Government’s ‘deliberate abandonment’ of sea ports in Port Harcourt, Warri and Calabar.

    It slammed the government for imposing high tariff and stifling policies, which can sabotage the economy.

    A statement by spokesman Henry Iyalla reads: “It is pathetic that the only seaport in operation in the country is the one in Lagos State. According to a report in The Guardian of July 31, two million containers laden with cargoes worth over N5 trillion are stranded at the Lagos Port, with several vessels waiting to berth, as if the country lacks seaports with the capacity to satisfy the demands of the industry.

    “We condemn in totality the huge infrastructural decay, high disparity on cargo charges and deliberate stifling policies against Niger Delta ports, compared to its Lagos counterpart. This has brought under-utilisation of ports in the region, reduced economic gain and mass unemployment. The Onne Port, which seems to be the only vibrant port in the region, is mandated to focus on oil and gas-related cargoes, which makes their charges high. Even when non-oil cargoes are charged, they are charged as if they are oil-related, which is not good for business in this era of economic recession.”

    The national executive of IYC Worldwide enjoined the Federal Government to put in modalities for the rehabilitation and operational use of moribund ports in Niger Delta, as a show of interest in the economic development of Niger Delta people.

    The group urged the government to call relevant regulators and agencies to order and mandate them to put seamless policies in place so that importers from Onitsha, Aba, Port Harcourt and environs will not go through the stress of passing their goods through Lagos.

    “The Nigeria Ports Authority and Nigeria Shippers Council, as regulators, should strive to bring down charges, take a look at the stifling policies and address infrastructural deficit so that Niger Delta ports can be vibrant, to reduce unemployment in the region and provide an alternate route for cargoes, while Lagos Port is de-congested.”

  • Matters arising as IYC gets new Central Zone leadership

    Matters arising as IYC gets new Central Zone leadership

    There is no gainsaying that the national leadership of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide is under the throes of leadership crisis. The IYC has two factions at the national level. But the Central Zone of IYC is calm.

    The central zone recently held elections to constitute its new executive committee. The election which held at Ijaw House, Yenagoa was free of rancour. It was adjudged free and fair. At the end of the poll, Mr. Tare Porri, a lawyer, emerged the new Chairman of the zone.

    Others are Amiebi Turner, Vice-chairman; Wariebi Buruboyefe, Secretary; Oki Torutein Isiya, Assistant Secretary; Kockman Kurobo, Information Officer; Beledanyo Barass, Treasurer and Daniel Pre-ebi Eyenghe, Financial Secretary.

    Also elected were Okpu Juliana Alagoa, Woman Leader; Timilaemi Ebifoubo, Mobilisation Officer and Gesikeme Fulutu, Students Representative.

    In fact, most Ijaw leaders believe that the central zone is the nucleus of the IYC operations. The zone, which is mainly Bayelsa State, was the brains behind the Kaiama Declaration that led to the founding of the council.

    It was in Kaiama located in Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, that the youths, in honour of the late Ijaw hero, Maj. Isaac Adaka Boro, who hailed from the town,  gathered to take a decision to commence agitations for self-determination and resource control.

    Therefore, the zone is a rallying point for IYC activities especially as Bayelsa is the only homogeneous Ijaw state. Undoubtedly, the newly elected leadership of IYC in the zone has a big task on its hand.

    But the new chairman of the zone, Porri, is capable and well-prepared to offer the leadership. The votes he garnered showed he was widely accepted to lead the zone. Out of the 100 delegates that voted in the election, 81 voted for him. Porri, in his first public outing also vowed to run an all-inclusive administration.

    He was grateful to the state Governor Seriake Dickson for creating an enabling environment for the elective committee to deliver a peaceful election. Addressing Dickson as the leader of the Ijaw nation, he said the governor’s intervention in the IYC crisis led to the birth of the new zonal leadership.

    “This was one election that was keenly contested and he provided the needed leadership as a father to all. This was one election the governor was unbiased.

    “He never had a candidate and he actually supported the electoral committee, the national IYC and the zonal leadership to ensure that the elections were peaceful and credible. Sincerely, the election that brought us on board is adjudged the freest, fairest and most credible in the history of IYC”, he said.

    Porri also thanked the members of the IYC and its founding fathers that came out to support the electoral process. He said the youths came out without molestation to  cast their votes. He promised not to let down the youths saying he would continue to move the Ijaw nation forward.

    The chairman-elect said on the day of their inauguration he would set up the first Elders’ Advisory Council. “It is one of our focus because we are determined to return the IYC back to the grassroots. We are returning the council back to the clans, the Ogbos, parliament and other stakeholders, who are the original owners”, he said.

    He added: “The Kaiama Declaration is founded on resource control and self-determination by any means necessary. We will hit the ground running by taking necessary steps to address some of these challenges currently affecting the Ijaw nation, part of which is that right now we don’t have the formidable force that will also support the governor of Bayelsa State in presenting the Ijaw position before the Nigerian state.

    Porri also reinstated that Ijaw position on the state of the nation saying only restructuring would guarantee a united Nigeria. He said if the country failed to restructure, the Ijaw would opt for self-determination and total resource control as contained in the Kaiama Declaration.

    He said: “We are not scared of break-up, but what we are saying is that if we must continue to live together as a nation, we must restructure. If they are not ready for restructuring, we are saying that we want to have total control of our resources.

    “By so doing, we are resorting to the spirits behind the Kaiama Declaration which is self-determination by all means possible.

    “While we continue to heed the call that Nigeria must live together, we will not also hesitate to state that any attempt to think that we are a weaker vessel, we will take actions to end this marriage. Everybody should come to the table with their demands so we can resolve to move this country forward”.

    The chairman further described the existing eight local government areas in Bayelsa State as no longer acceptable. He argued that Bayelsa is not the smallest state in the country in terms of landmass and lamented that the condition of the state typified  the lopsidedness of the Nigerian federation.

    He said with the state’s landmass and its contributions to the development of the country, Bayelsa deserved more local government areas.

    Porri said: “I did my Law School in Kano, some of the local government areas are not up to three communities. Kano State should not be up to 20 local government areas by all standard.

    “Look at Southern Ijaw Local Government Area in Bayelsa. If it were to be in Kano, Southern Ijaw would have produced 10 local government areas alone. The same thing with Ekeremor. Most leaders in this country are not sincere in the way they do their things.

    “We are not happy that Bayelsa has only eight local government areas because derivation is on local government basis. That is why even when we are the one bringing the resources on the table, they are the people determining what happens to those resources”.

    He said Ijaw agitation predated that of Biafra and recalled that their hero, late Major Isaac Adaka Boro, once fought the Federal Government to demand resource control. He insisted that Ijaw was never part of Biafra.

    He said: “Don’t forget that our agitation predates that of Biafria. Don’t forget that our hero Major Isaac Adaka Boro started this agitation before Biafra. Our hero was arrested and imprisoned. He was later released to fight the war against Biafra”.

    He also condemned the attack on a military post at Ogbubegbene in Boamdi, Delta State. Porri described the attack on the military that led to the death of a soldier as evil but said the military should adopt another method of fishing out suspects without harassing and intimidating Ijaw communities.

    He said that Ijaw youths were ready to help the military apprehend persons behind the attack at a military checkpoint in Burutu, Delta State. He, however, lamented that about five communities in Ekeremor Local Government Area were the worst hit in the ongoing operations by the military to arrest the fleeing suspects.

    He said: “You are aware again of what happened a few days ago at Ogbubegbene where some group of young men attacked a military post there and killed an army man. They also took away some weapons. We are condemning the act in its entirety.

    “But that does not mean that the military should also take laws into their own hands by invading our communities. About five communities in Ekeremor Local Government have been invaded by the Nigerian military.

    “We are saying that this sort of activities will result in a serious crisis which may get out of control. While we are condemning the action of those hoodlums, we are saying that the action of molesting women and children can damage the relative peace we have in the region”.

  • IYC, INC…Far away from peace

    IYC, INC…Far away from peace

    Two important Ijaw organisations, the Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC) and the Ijaw National Congress (INC), are miles away from finding peace and being able to stand up for the Ijaw Nation, writes MIKE ODIEGWU

    NINE days ago, a faction of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide led by Mr. Oweilaemi Pereotubo took over the National Secretariat of the council in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

    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 organsations 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 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”.

    The crisis in the IYC is just one of the signs that the Ijaw Nation is divided. The Ijaw National Congress (INC) has also been in limbo for some time. No thanks to conflicting interests.

    The INC used to be the only outstanding vociferous organ of the Ijaw. It presented a common and united position of the fourth largest ethnic group on national issues. But not any more. INC is long dead, torn apart by rivalries and conflicts. But Governor Seriake Dickson is making some efforts to resurrect INC. Dickson recently assembled Ijaw leaders in Government House, Yenagoa, to deliberate on issues that had crippled INC.

    Rising from the deliberation, the governor inaugurated a 20-member committee with a mandate to make peace in INC. Dickson observed that all was not well with Ijaw lamenting that conflicts and disagreements had polarized the nation.

    To Dickson, a divided house cannot stand. He said the time had come to fashion out ways to holistically address all the challenges confronting the unity of the nation.

    He said: “A number of things are not right about ourselves, about our zone and also the contradiction in our nation. And in all of these our people? must develop a coherent approach as to how we can resolve these issues and move forward.

    ” Interestingly you all are not new to these challenges. All of you have been saddled in one form or the other and always to protect the Ijaw national interest”.

    While admitting that disagreements were normal in every relationship, Dickson said such healthy rivalries should lead to an acceptable position of strength. But he said the crisis in INC had weakened the body and derailed it from its mission.

    He said: “The INC as a proud organization with so much hope and promise which some of the leaders have laboured so hard to keep in existence. We wonder why drastic steps should not be taking to make it bounce back to national reckoning”.

    Dickson, who gave the elders and leaders a two-week period to come up with a peace document, also issued six terms of reference to them. The governor said he was optimistic that the committee would resolve the crisis.

    “We may be down but by the time the leaders will be through with their work, it will be very clear that we were only down but not out”,  he said.

    In his acceptance speech, the Chairman of the? Ijaw National Reconciliation Committee (INRC) and Amayanabo of Twon Brass, King Alfred Diete-Spiff commended the governor for his timely intervention and assured him that they would work to reconcile all aggrieved parties.

    A former Deputy Governor of Rivers State, Sir, GTG Toby will serve as deputy chairman while Dr. Felix Tuodolo is the secretary of the committee which also has Gen. John Yeri (rtd) and Senator Inatimi? Rufus-Spiff as members.

    Other members are. Gen. Cletus Emein (rtd), Dr. Amba Ambaowei, Prof. Kimse Okoko, Prof. Ayibaemi Spiff, Chief Francis Doukpola, Prof. Nimi Briggs, Prof. Joseph Ajenika, Arch. I.E.I Ette and Mrs Rose Obuoforibo.

    Also on the committee are Dr. Silas Eneyo, Chief Joshua Fumudoh, Wing Comdr. P.Y Biakpara (rtd), ?High Chief Francis J. Williams, Prof. Christopher Dimie and Barr. Felicia Ajagu.

    But some Ijaw leaders have expressed doubts over the ability of the governor to restore peace in INC. They recalled that Dickson’s efforts to resolve the crisis in the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) created more problems among the youths.

    A group under the aegis of the Amalgamated Ijaw Federation Assembly (AIFA), Worldwide, said the newly established committee by Dickson held no hope and future for the Ijaw nation. The Leader AIFA, Izonegbere Wycliffe, said they had no confidence in the committee.

    He said: “There is nothing to celebrate in Governor Dickson setting up a committee to resolve the conflict in the Ijaw National Congress (INC). We do not have the confidence that the committee set up by Gov. Dickson would reconcile aggrieved parties and return peace to the INC considering the way and manner the earlier committee set up by Gov. Dickson on the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) went about its work.

    “It is on record that the Chief Joshua Fumudoh committee on the IYC crisis did a very bad job which has left the IYC further polarized. The Fumudoh committee woefully failed because the committee’s work was politicized at the expense of the peace and unity of the Ijaw nation.

    “Instead of the Fumudoh Committee on the IYC to reconcile Ijaw youths, Bayelsa politics, party affiliations and fake rumors were the factors that influenced the Committee’s report.

    “Therefore, we of the Amalgamated Ijaw Federation Assembly Worldwide are of the view that just like the Dickson/ Fumudoh IYC Committee, nothing positive would come out of the Governor Dickson’s committee on the INC because Bayelsa politics and rumour mongering would decide the outcome of the committee’s work.

    “Until Governor Dickson right the injustice of the Fumudoh’s committee on IYC and rise above politics, we would neither support nor have confidence in whatever he is doing in the name of Ijaw national interest.

    “As far as we are concern, the Ijaw national platforms have suffered retrogression and crisis under Gov. Dickson more than any other Bayelsa State Governor despite the fact that Dickson is a product of the Ijaw struggle”.

    Wycliffe further said that some of the Ijaw elders, who bungled the IYC peace committee were also members of the new INC peace committee.

    He said: “How can such persons’ who are part of the disunity in the Ijaw nation resolve or return peace to the INC and the Ijaw nation?

    “We want to state categorically that if Dickson is truly sincere and has the Ijaw Nation at heart he would have consulted the Chairman of the Ijaw Elders Forum (IEF), Chief Bukazi Etete to incorporate the forum to this committee to make it easier because they have gone very far to reconcile the various interests groups in INC.

    “If the governor has so much money to throw around, such money should be used for other purposes like paying workers salaries. The committee you set up is of no of use whatsoever and is null and void”.

  • DSS breaching Niger Delta peace process, says IYC

    DSS breaching Niger Delta peace process, says IYC

    The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Worldwide yesterday accused the Department of State Security (DSS) of breaching the Federal Government’s peace process in the Niger Delta region by its continuous detention of some Niger Delta people without trial.

    IYC, in a statement by its factional President, Mr. Eric Omare,  said it was unlawful for the DSS to keep some persons it arrested from the region in its custody for a long time without arraignment.

    Omare added that during the fact-finding and confidence-building mission of the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, the people of the region made a case for the release of persons in detention following renewed militancy in the Niger Delta.

    He said the government promised to look into the request and to release some of the detained Niger Delta people.

    He said: “However, the DSS has continued to detain some other Niger Deltans and in some cases even when there is a court order directing that they be released. The case of ex-militant leader, Mr. Sely Kile Torugbedi (alias Young Shall Grow) is most pathetic and unjust.

    “The Federal High Court, Abuja presided over by the Honourable Justice Nnamdi Dimgba on the 5th of August, 2016 made an order for the immediate release of Mr. Torugbedi (alias Young Shall Grow) from DSS custody.

    “However, almost a year after the order was made, the DSS is still holding Mr. Torugbedi in custody despite the fact that they were represented in court by a lawyer, O. J. Odu.

    “The DSS has extended same treatment to Ijaw activist, Mr. Daniel Ezekiel where they have bluntly refused to attend court at the Federal High Court, Warri despite several hearing notices served on them at the DSS headquarters at Abuja.

    “So many other Niger Deltans like IYC Abuja chapter Spokesman, Alex Odogu, Yenagoa based journalist, Jones Abiri and some others have been in detention for more than a year without trial”.

    Insisting that the conduct of the DSS amounted to a breach of the Niger Delta peace process, he said the persons in detention were arrested in connection with the Niger Delta agitations.

    He said that since the government had decided to adopt a negotiated settlement of the Niger Delta agitation, the detained persons should be released as part of the peace process.

    He added: “It even amounts to breach of trust for government to promise peaceful dialogue while at the same time unnecessarily keeping people in detention.

    “The leaders of the Niger Delta region have done their part by restoring relative peace in the region and now it is up to the federal government to sustain it.

    “Therefore, the IYC calls on Acting President, Yemi Osinbanjo to as a matter of urgency and in the interest of the Niger Delta peace process order the release of ex-militant leader, Mr. Sely Kile Torugbedi (alias Young Shall Grow), Ijaw activist: Daniel Ezekiel, IYC Abuja Spokesman: Alex Odogu, Jones Abiri and all other Niger Deltans in DSS custody in relation to the Niger Delta hostilities.

    “Acting President, Yemi Osinbanjo should note that his reputation is on trial in the face of these violations of human rights as a law professor and Senior Advocate of Nigeria”.

  • Biafra: ‘Can Kanu lead Igbos to war?’

    Biafra: ‘Can Kanu lead Igbos to war?’

    Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu came under fire from many quarters yesterday for his belligerency, particularly his call for the boycott of the November governorship election in Anambra State.

    He has also been threatening that unless a referendum is organised to enable the Igbo determine whether they should have Biafra, the Southeast will boycott the 2019 elections.

    Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and politicians chided the separatist advocate.

    The Ijaw Youth Council also threatened action should Kanu disparage former President Goodluck Jonathan again.

    Okorocha who spoke at the State House in Abuja said Kanu does not represent or speak for the Igbo, describing him as a young man seeking relevance.

    “Kanu, a young man seeking relevance, agitating for whatever he believes in, what he stands for must be treated separately from the entire Igbo nation.

    “He should be treated as a young man agitating and seeking for relevance, these are two different issues. And he can ride on the back of supposed Igbo marginalization which has been said is not right, and ride on that sentiments and push his agenda but that does not mean that the entire Igbos are speaking with him.

    The question is does Nnamdi Kanu have the capacity to lead Igbo to war? Or lead me and the governors to war? So I will stand now and Nnamdi Kanu will tell me stand up let’s go to war? So, sometimes we over dramatised the issue just to make a big deal out of it and that has been the big challenge.

    “Like the gentleman that spoke for the Arewa youths, and these are not more than 17 young men speaking for millions of Arewa youths and it doesn’t make sense because if you ask any Arewa youth now if he is part of this he will tell you no.

    “I was in Chatham House and I remember how I was attacked by the IPOB boys when I was delivering my lecture. They walked up to me and they were shouting and I said calm down and the young man has never visited Nigeria. So it is our duty to call our younger ones to order but I want to assure Nigerians that they should not see that as a break but agitation given what they perceived that the South East has been neglected over time politically, economically, socially and all that.

    “Their roads are impassable, you cannot pass Port Harcourt road, Enugu road, Aba Road, Bayelsa road and all the roads. You can hardly see federal government presence in the South East, all the things you see are self-made things. Even the Onitsha bridge has been a theoretical talk, fabrications which does not represent reality.

    “So, he speaks his own and joins it to our issues and it now looks like a nationwide thing. That is not the issue.

    “We have called for unity and have agreed that we will remain united. Very soon, some of us have taken it upon ourselves to reach out to this young men talk to them. We must understand that our young men are frustrated, if they are as comfortable as we are, they will not be able to say those.

    Ohaneze Ndigbo said Kanu has no right to stop the Anambra governorship election.

    Its president, Dr John Nwodo, described the IPOB leader’s statement as provocative, misleading and unproductive.

    He said Kanu’s statement was against the agreement he reached with Ohaneze Ndigbo when he visited him, adding that the IPOB leader had breached the agreement with Ohaneze without consultation.

    Nwodo and his executive council members spoke during a visit to the Anambra State House of Assembly yesterday as part of its sensitisation in the South East. Speaker Rita Maduagwu, lawmakers and former National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh, attended.

    Nwodo said:  “News that reached us in the past few days that Nnamdi Kami, had declared that there will be no election in Anambra in November is shocking and disturbing. I hereby countermand that declaration as President General of Ohaneze

    “Whereas Ohaneze understands the marginalisation and unfair treatment of Igbos which have given rise to self-determination movements in Igboland, leaders of these movements must not arrogate to themselves the supreme leadership of Igboland. Statements of the kind credited to Nnamdi Kanu are provocative, misleading and unproductive”

    “Why should Anambra people be denied the opportunity to choose their own leader? Why should any of us not from Anambra, no matter how highly placed, descend to the arena and dictate for Anambra people when to vote, whether to vote or who to vote for?

    “Anambra, nay Igbos, are still part and parcel of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Yes, we are not happy with our treatment in Nigeria”

    “Yes, some of us want Biafra. Yes, some of us prefer a restructured Federal Republic of Nigeria. But the fact remains that we are still part and parcel of the present Federal Republic of Nigeria, bound by its laws, no matter how repressive or unjust”

    Umeh said it was only the people who do not have Igbo blood in them that would allow anybody to tell them what goes on in the society today, adding that the current Ohaneze was making Ndigbo proud.

    Special Adviser to Governor Willie Obiano on legislative matters, Chief Chidozie Ezeugwa, condemned Kanu’s statement saying the government of Anambra state under Obiano was committed to the Igbo cause and would continue to do everything to support Ohaneze’s interest in anything in protecting Ndigbo in the country.

    Some politicians have also condemned Kanu’s call for a boycott of the Anambrapoll.

    They said the call was capable of derailing democracy in the state and expose the people to anarchy.

    Chief Sam Oraegbunam, Chairman of Hope Democratic Party (HDP), Anambra chapter, said although Kanu’s call for repositioning of Nigeria was popular, he must not use it to cause confusion in Anambra.

    The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide has declared that further attack on former President Jonathan by Kanu, would be met with appropriate sanctions from Ijaw youths.

    IYC through its Spokesman Daniel Dasimaka, described as uncharitable and disrespectful, Kanu’s comments on ex-President Jonathan.

    The umbrella organisation of Ijaw youths said: “It is quite ironic and appalling that anyone will say ex-President Jonathan did nothing for the Southeast, when it is common knowledge in both informed and not-so-informed circles in Nigeria that the Southeast benefited even more than the Southsouth under Dr. Jonathan. It is on record that under the then President Jonathan, rehabilitation and expansion works were done on the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport (SMICA), Owerri, Imo State, which he granted an international airport status.

    “In terms of appointment, Dr. Jonathan appointed the first female Comptroller-General of Immigration, Mrs. Rose Chinyere Uzoma (an Igbo). He also appointed the first Southeast Chief of Army Staff, Maj.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika and first Southeast Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ogbonnaya Onovo, among others.

    “We are calling on the true Igbo leaders to caution Nnamdi Kanu and to bridle his tongue, lest his unguarded rhetoric may strain the good relationship the Igbo and the Ijaw nation, and by extrapolation, the Southsouth and Southeast geopolitical zones, have enjoyed over the years.”

  • Protest as IYC faction takes over secretariat in Bayelsa 

    A faction of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide led by Mr. Oweilaemi Pereotubo, yesterday, 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 organisations 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”.

  • We can’t afford another civil war, says IYC

    The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide has called on the Federal Government to show leadership by taming purveyors of hate messages saying the country could not afford another civil war.

    The youths said it was unfortunate that the Spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Mr. Ango Abdullahi, who should have known better, declared support for the eviction order issued to Igbos residing and doing business in the north by northern youths.

    IYC spokesman Henry Iyalla, in a statement yesterday, urged the government to rise to the occasion and stop pampering the situation.

    The statement said: “This notice to quit order made by the youth’s body and corroborated by the Elders goes to show that they are either ignorant or not conversant with the constitutional provision which guarantees the right to own properties and live anywhere within the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “You cannot forcefully ask a person to leave your territory because he chooses the part of seccession or self-determination. Seccession has been an age long word known by many modern democracies and does not on its own translate to a death sentence.

    “We expressly state our disdain for such statement coming from the Elders as such words are not only symptoms but actually the cause of the unwarranted civil war and Nigeria cannot afford same now.

    “We particularly challenge the Buhari led Federal Government on strong and purposeful leadership aimed at arresting the situation at its preliminary stage and not the kind of way they have handled this critical national issue.

    “We at Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) urges the Federal Government to look at the issue of restructuring this country so component states can manage and control the ownership of her resources which is in tandem with the concept of true federalism.

    “This will be a step in the right direction on the part of the Federal Government especially now that Nigeria is in urgent need of a way forward”.

    Also, a prominent Ijaw youth leader and immediate past President of IYC, Mr. Udengs Eradiri, warned that the eviction order issued to Ndiigbo by northern youths was a recipe to destabilise the polity through a coup d’état.

    Eradiri said powerful northern cabal angry with the current political situation in the country could be behind the action of the youths.

    But he said the country had come of age and would resist attempts by the disgruntled cabal in the north to truncate the current democratic dispensation out of their selfish agenda.

    Eradiri recalled that the military authorities warned some politicians making overtures to their officers, a situation that raised a coup scare in the country.

    He said the eviction order was part of a plot to create confusion in the country and justify plans to destabilise the polity through a coup.

    He called for thorough investigations into the actions of the northern youths with a view to apprehending their sponsors.

    Eradiri wondered why the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and Department of State Security had failed to arrest the youths who made the call, which he described as treasonable.

    He lamented that the security agencies failed to act despite an order by the Governor of Kaduna State calling for the arrest of the scaremongers.

    Eradiri said: “Some people are beating a drum. But they should know that we are more intelligent than what was obtainable in the past. Some people are not happy about the stability in the Nigerian polity and want to use this as disguise to justify either a coup or whatever they are planning to do.

  • IYC condemns Reps’ rejection of IOCs HQ relocation to Niger Delta

    The umbrella organisation of Ijaw youths, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, has condemned the rejection by the House of Representatives of a motion to relocate the administrative headquarters of international oil companies (IOCs) to the Niger Delta region.

    In a statement yesterday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, by its spokesman Daniel Dasimaka, IYC expressed displeasure about the alleged insensitivity of the Federal lawmakers.

    It said: “IYC is deeply saddened by the callousness and insensitivity of the members of the House of Representatives to the plight of the people of the Niger Delta, as amply demonstrated on May 2 by their rejection of the motion sponsored by Goodluck Opiah, praying the House to direct the multinational oil and gas companies to relocate their administrative head offices to the Niger Delta region.

    “We strongly believe that this action of the members of the House of Representatives has the potential of derailing the seeming calm in the Niger Delta, which resulted from positive steps, like the presidential directive made earlier this year by the then Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, mandating all IOCs to relocate their administrative headquarters to their host communities in the Niger Delta.

    “The siting of the administrative headquarters of the IOCs outside their areas of operations has contributed to their adoption of policies and taking of decisions that are inconsiderate of the externalities of oil and gas exploration and exploitation in the Niger Delta, such as pollution, environmental hazards and degradation, leading to the dislocation of our local economy.

    “We, therefore, condemn the antagonists of Opiah’s motion, titled: Calling Oil Companies to Establish Operational and Administrative Offices in the Niger Delta Region, Where they Engage in Exploration and Exploitation.

    “We categorically and unequivocally condemn Speaker Yakubu Dogara’s unfortunate comments that ‘as a businessman, I cannot be forced toý site my business where I know it is not safe.’ If the region is not safe for the IOCs to site their administrative headquarters, as the Speaker has insinuated, how come it has been safe for them to carry out their main business of oil exploration and exploitation for close to 60 years?”

    The organisation also said the alleged short-sightedness of the Federal lawmakers had needlessly delayed the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and retarded the viability of seaports outside Lagos.

    It said this had denied Nigeria of huge investments, revenues and employment opportunities.

    IYC said the earlier Nigerians realised that the Niger Delta crisis was a national and global problem, thereby acting accordingly, the better for the citizens.

    The organisation hailed the lawmakers from the Southsouth, Southeast and some of theirý Northeast and Northwest counterparts, who walked out of the House to show their displeasure to the alleged injustice.

    It said: “We find it disturbing that since the then Acting President voluntarily made the commitment on behalf of the Federal Government, he has failed to match his words with adequate action to fulfil it. We are, therefore, tempted to construe Prof OsInbajo’s statement as mere political declaration, aimed at currying plaudits.

    “We have not forgotten that in March, Prof Osinbajo directed the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, to engage with the IOCs on the way forward over repeated calls for the relocation of their head offices to the states where they produce crude oil from. Nothing seems to have been done to make it a reality. We are calling on the Presidency to expedite action to implement the Presidential directive.

    “We are also calling on the oil and gas companies to comply with the presidential directive by immediately relocating their headquarters to the communities of their operations. This is in their strategic interest, because when oil facilities are attacked in the Niger Delta communities, it is not the parochial lawmakers that are affected most.”

    The Ijaw youths’ umbrella body expressed the readiness of its members to work with relevant authorities to kick-start the implementation of Federal Government’s policy on modular refineries.