The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Mr. Udengs Eradiri

  • Mixed feelings trail proposal for state police

    Mixed feelings trail proposal for state police

    Ijaw leaders, lawyers and other stakeholders, Friday, expressed mixed feelings over the possibility of establishing state police to tackle crime waves in the country.

    A former President of the Ijaw National Council (INC), Prof. Kimse Okoko, said without factoring other ingredients of restructuring, establishing a state police would be an exercise in futility.

    Okoko, the immediate past Pro-Chancellor, University of Uyo, insisted that the country was in need of a brand new constitution to accommodate all requirements for true federalism including the state police.

    He said: “State police alone without changing the constitution is a waste of time. We cannot do it in piece meal. If we restructure, every state will has its own police side by side with the federal police as we have in other countries.

    “We have the Federal police in the U.S. and the state police. They all have their own jurisdiction.  The state police can ask for assistance from the federal and invite them. They can come only on invitation.

    “The constitution needs to be re-written. We need to have a new constitution where some of other aspects affiliated with the state will also be taken care of. Amending one part of it as the National Assembly is trying to do is not going solve the problem”.

    Also the immediate past President, Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, Mr. Udengs Eradiri, said though the state police have their advantages, they should be part of the general clamour for restructuring.

    Eradiri said: “In a true federal system, state police is one of the ingredients. Much as you cannot rule out politics, state police has its advantages. The state government can use the state police against perceived opposition. We have seen that the federal one is not working as it should be, I think it is time to try something different.

    “But taking out the state police as one ingredients of federalism will not make it a success except other aspects of federalism that have been canvassed are also put into considerations. So, that when you are talking about state police, other issues of devolving power to the state and local government will also be put in place.

    “Once all the machinery begin to play where the people begin to take ownership of the political situation in their environment, then the issue of checks and balances and control will begin to be paramount.

    “Once there is effective checks and balances in the system, it will be difficult to abuse the state police. But within this system we are operating and arising from the conflicts we are experiencing, picking only the state police will not yield the desired fruit”.

    In his submission, a prominent Yengoa-based lawyer, Mr. Somina Johnbull, said the country could borrow a lead from other developed countries such as South Africa, USA and Britain to effectively implement state and community policing.

    “It is laudable that finally someone from the federal government has acknowledged state police to solve the incessant security problems that we have. We cannot do without state and community policing.

    “Contrary to the requirement of one policeman to 400, our is a way beyond that and the complexities of our local environment make it necessary that the task of policing must be shared by all divisions of government.

    “However, the fear of abuse will have to be addressed. How can this be addressed? It is by borrowing from the model of South Africa and other institutions like America and Britain where the issue of security has independence”, he said.

    He said such independence must be in words and in deed adding that it should include financial autonomy.

    To avoid conflict between the federal and the state police, he said there must be proper delineation of jurisdictions.

    Johnbull, who is also the Secretary, Bayelsa State branch of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) said: “The independence of the state police is not just in name but also in deed. It works in financial independence and they are required only to obey the law as it is not under the direction of any political figure.

    “The truth is that those opposed to state police are afraid that the state governors may bring their weight to bear and it might also lead to regular confrontation between federal police and the state police.

    “First, there will be proper delineation of what state police can do areas they can enter and matters they have jurisdiction over. In the US, crimes in federal buildings are off limit for state police. There need to be proper delineation to minimise conflict.

    “Just as in the judiciary, where you have federal and state courts, however, there is a central control authority which can regulate and make everybody fall in line. There should be similar authority that can regulate the activities of state police. They shouldn’t be solely loyal to their states; there should be some measure of control in a way that it should not be abused”.

    Another famous lawyer and former Bayelsa State Chairman, NBA, Mr. Stanley Damabide, said the Federal Government must grapple with the task of amending the constitution before it could enthrone state policing.

    “The first issue is the constitutional framework. Unless the constitution is amended we can’t have state police. The implication then is that the federal government cannot go it alone. It has to collaborate with all the state before it can effectively ensure the constitution is amended.

    “It can work. More than two third of the state’s and their state executives will want state police. It gives them more powers. But we must brace up to meet possible abuses and see what we can do about them because he who pays the piper dictates the tune”.

  • Clark-led PANDEF has lost focus, says ex-IYC boss

    Clark-led PANDEF has lost focus, says ex-IYC boss

    Ijaw youth leader and immediate past President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, Mr. Udengs Eradiri, Wednesday, said the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) led by Chief Edwin Clark had lost focus.

    Speaking in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Eradiri said though the forum was able to set the pace and part of the Niger Delta agenda, it derailed and lost the confidence of the people of the region.

    He insisted that the group became an embarrassment and a disgrace to region adding that President Muhammadu Buhari did not need the PANDEF to develop the Niger Delta.

    Eradiri said:  ”We have lost confidence in PANDEF. We no longer believe in them. I was part of those that brought up the idea when the government said they did not know whom to talk to in the region.

    ” We agreed to come together as one, hence we established PANDEF. But unfortunately, PANDEF has now lost focus. They are now talking about constitution and leadership. They have women’s wing, youths’ wing and others.

    ”At every point that we strive to make progress, we are the same persons to scatter it. Everyone is seeking audience. Let those elders go and rest, particularly Clark. We have no elders to report to; they want to be the rulers, owning the power.

    “They seek to overthrow the IYC and all others. They want to be the leaders all because of the selfish gains they want to derive. PANDEF has lost its usefulness. The group is becoming an embarrassment and a disgrace to the Niger Delta. ”

    Eradiri also declared that some external forces were behind the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) and its recent threat to resume hostilities in the region.

    He noted that the Federal Government was aware of the entire scheme, which he said was orchestrated by agents of destruction with the desire to make money from the system.

    He knocked the government for its approach in handling the agitations of the militant group and explained that violent agitations were a product of long years of underdevelopment, neglect, lack of equity, insincerity other challenges facing the Niger Delta.

    The former IYC boss said that he never believed in violent agitation, but the government had made it the only language it understands in the country.

    To stop further agitation, he said the government needed to demonstrate more commitment and seriousness in addressing the causes of agitations.

    Eradiri said: ”The government is not serious. All they want to do is blackmail some persons politically and dent people’s images.  I am from this area and I know how it works. All I want is for everything to hear better.

    ”I believe and I know that these Avengers’ stuff and threats are external. They are fueled by external forces; people who just want to disrupt things are behind it. Their thinking is that money will come out it through negotiation. Even the government knows about it. It is all about destabilising things and stealing money from system.

    ”My advice to the youth is that they should continue to agitate. Yes, the only language that they understand is constant agitation. If they did not agitate, the Amnesty budget, you remember I was shouting,  it was N20bn down from N56bn.

    ”When the youth started agitation, it was moved to N35bn and now it is over N50bn, with they (Amnesty operators) now have money to pay school fees and all of that. They were also shouting about the Niger Delta Ministry budget, now the government has increased it.

    “When agitation started, we shouted about the Maritime University, they said they were going to kick off, now I am hearing President Muhammadu Buhari has approved N5bn in the new budget. So, if there is no agitation, will they do all these? So, let the youth agitate. Government, wake up to your responsibility.”

    Speaking on the Pan Niger Delta Elders Forum (PANDEF), Eradiri said PANDEF had lost focus and outlived its usefulness.

    He insisted that the Federal Government did not need the organisation to address the Niger Delta question.

  • Stop linking IYC to avengers – council secretariat

    A faction of executive members of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Worldwide, on Tuesday, frowned on the linkage of the youth body to the activities of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA).

    A splinter group of NDA, Reform Niger Delta Avengers (RNDA) named the President of IYC, Mr. Udengs Eradiri among leaders it accused of belonging to the NDA and sponsoring bombings of pipelines in the region.

    Though Eradiri had since denied the allegation, some members of council claimed that he was no longer the President and should not drag the name of IYC into dishonourable activities.

    The Secretary-General of IYC, Mr. Bristol Emmanuel, condemned linking the IYC into militancy claiming that Eradiri had since ceased to lead IYC.

    Eradiri and most members of his executive council have been at loggerheads over the leadership of the council, a battle that had shifted to the court.

    But Emmanuel who spoke in Yenagoa said: “We condemn any attempt to drag the name of IYC to issues relating to militancy and avengers. The organisation has no activity that has to do with avengers.

    Eradiri is not the President of IYC. I am the Secretary-General of the IYC and the Head of Administration. I am the custodian of all the documents and everything of the council. Eradiri is not the President.

    “He has been released from that office. IYC for now is consulting with stakeholders and discussing with relevant institutions to put an end to the crisis in this region.

    “The IYC President remains Elvis Donkemezuo and that is the true reflection of Ijaw people and the position of the council. We are not speaking in the defence of Udengs, we are only defending the integrity of IYC.”

    Also speaking on the matter, Donkemezuo said it was unfair to rope IYC into violent agitation insisting that the council remained committed to the development of the Ijaw nation.

    He said: “We don’t want anybody to rope IYC to any issue that has not been approved by IYC. We don’t want people to associate the council to unending  arms struggle.

    “For the sake of clarity, we want to state unequivocally that Udengs Eradiri is no longer the President of the IYC. A court of competent jurisdiction sitting in Sagbama Bayelsa State has summoned him for continuoisly parading himself as IYC President.

    “IYC is not Udengs Eradiri’s private estate. Therefore, we urge those who have personal or business quarrels with him not to drag the name of the council into their tussles. We distance ourselves from the Niger Delta Avengers and any splinter group from it as well as all their sponsors.

    “Moreso, for the avoidance of doubt, we want the world to know that although we do not know who the NDA members are, we are confident that they are not Ijaw people and do not speak for the Ijaws or the Niger Delta Region.

    “They have identified that as a nation, we have an unresolved problem and they are trying to exploit that for their own personal aggrandisement. The abject state of the Ijaw man and the Niger Delta is no longer breaking news.

    “The whole world is aware that the Niger Delta is underdeveloped despite the huge resources that have been taken from it. So these people masking as freedom fighters are trying to cash in on this to exploit our plight as a tool to enrich themselves. Their actions do not reflect the true spirit of the Niger Delta Struggle. Our struggle in the IYC is in line with the principles of our illustrious forebearers like Isaac Adaka Boro,  Harold Dappa-Biriye, the Brave authors of Kaiama Declaration,  Ken Saro-Wiwa among others. The character, actions and antics of the NDA and their co-travellers,  like the so called RNDA do not reflect the yearnings and aspirations of our land and people. This is because they are actually impoverishing our region and degrading our environment with their mindless destruction of Oil Facilities.

    Finally we call on the Security Agencies to intensify efforts to fish out the real faces behind the NDA mask, just as we advise our youths to be law abiding and go about your lawful business. These are trying times, but we shall overcome with God on our side.  We must not allow profiteers to exploit our collective pains for their private gains.

    “We thank the Nigerian populace for their cooperation. IYC has nothing to do with the activities of NDA. We demand an apology for dragging the name of the council to such activities because our struggles are guided by the overall interest of the Ijaw nation”.

  • Avengers are within your government, IYC tells Buhari

    Avengers are within your government, IYC tells Buhari

    • Says Lagos militants, avengers are not Ijaw people

    The umbrella body of Ijaw youths, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Worldwide, on Thursday, told President Muhammadu Buhari that members of the militant group, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) were within his government.

    The President of IYC, Mr. Udengs Eradiri, who briefed the press at the Headquarters of the council in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, also lamented constant linkage of avengers and criminals in Lagos State to Ijaw people.

    Eradiri advised President Buhari to begin the search for avengers within his government insisting that members of the militant group were in Aso Rock villa.

    He wondered why the military was laying siege in Gbaramatu Kingdom for members of NDA whom he said were not in the community.

    He said: “Why are they always quick to attack our communities. Gbaramatu is not the headquarters of avengers. It does not habour any avenger. Do you think that the community people are happy that they are under siege and cannot go about their normal duties?

    “The more they are doing this thing, the more Ijaw people will begin to come together and we will never be divided. The government should stop harassing our people.

    “The NDA is within them. They know themselves. They are blocking the President left, right and centre so that he would not see them. The NDA is with him and his people there”.

    Eradiri also insisted that the Ijaw people were not behind the violent attacks on communities in Lagos and Ogun states by militants regretting that some people deliberately ascribed such criminalities to Ijaw to cause ethnic war between Ijaw and their Yoruba neighbours.

    He asked the security agencies to do their job by flushing out the perpetrators of Lagos violence and stop making public statements that could create ethnic tension.

    He said: “There are some groups in Lagos engaged in criminal activities and those activities are now threatening the brotherly relationship our people have enjoyed in Lagos.

    “First, Nigeria should stop ascribing anything that happened in the Niger Delta to Ijaw people. For the avoidance of doubt, Niger Delta Avengers are not Ijaw people. I am tired of answering questions about Niger Delta Avengers.

    “I am the President of the Ijaw Youth Council. I am not the President of NDA. NDA are not Ijaw people. We don’t know who Niger Delta Avengers are. If the security agencies know avengers, they should arrest them. They should do their jobs.

    “They should stop transferring their jobs to community leaders or youth Organisations or leaders of ethnic nationalities. Their duty is to maintain law and order, to gather intelligence and do whatever they deem fit to ensure that there is peace in the country.

    “Please stop ascribing negative things to Ijaw people. We are the fourth largest ethnic nationalities in Nigeria and I agree that we are the people who refuse to eat sand and call it food. But that does not mean that every little thing that happens in the region will be ascribed to Ijaw people”.

    Eradiri said the Lagos issue has assumed a worrisome dimension adding that all the criminal activities in communities hosting the Arepo Atlas Cove pipelines in Lagos and Ogun States were being perpetrated by thieves who were out to enrich themselves.

    He said there is widespread economic crimes along pipelines in the country and that the Lagos scenario involved people from all the ethnic groups.

    He said: “So, Nigerians should stop ascribing it to Ijaw people. Ijaw people are peace-loving people. For over hundreds of years, our people have cohabited with other ethnic nationalities. We have never been known to be hostile people.

    “We sympathise with families that have lost their lives especially during the Ogun-Arepo crisis. As much as our hearts grieve with the affected families, we want to say that the aggressors are not Ijaw people. They are common criminals who are stealing refined products for economic reasons.

    “Therefore, the police and other security agencies that are sustained by taxpayers money should go and do their job. It beats our imagination when a police commissioner will stand up publicly to ascribe such crimes to ethnic nationality.

    “However, whichever way we can assist to resolve the issues in Lagos, we are willing to support. But the problem is snowballing into crisis between Ijaws and Yorubas and that is why we are concerned.

    “We will not support any negative thing that will be done to destabilise Lagos and its environs because our people are peaceful and law-abiding. We appeal to the Yoruba community, all those who are fanning the ambers of ethnic crisis should stop it. There are some individuals who are behind it and any little thing that happens they want to ascribe it.

    “This is just to build bad blood against our people. The government should be very vigilant because just on Wednesday, properties of the Ijaws were destroyed within the outskirts of Lagos because of media propaganda against our ethnic nationality”.

    He added: “We appeal to the Yoruba people; don’t allow yourselves to be used by people because they just want to create conflict. Conflict in Lagos will never help any of us. We still remember the injuries that were inflicted upon both sides during the OPC, Ijaw crisis.

    “Go back and investigate the issues, you will be amazed that one nonsense matter that has no bearing that caused it. Yoruba nation must know that we are their brothers. We share the same aspirations.

    “Ijaws will not sit down and said lets go and destroy Lagos. Lagos share the same terrain with us and we cannot destroy our home because we see Lagos as home.

    “We see Ogun as home. Let’s not be deceived into an unnecessary conflict. The security agencies are to be blamed. They should go and do their jobs. The waterways should be policed properly”.

  • Ijaw youths predict more hostilities in Niger Delta

    Ijaw youths predict more hostilities in Niger Delta

    The umbrella body of Ijaw youths, Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, yesterday, said there would be more hostilities in the Niger Delta region if President Muhammadu Buhari failed to probe “unfair allocation of oil blocs in the country” .

    The President of the IYC, Mr. Udengs Eradiri,  who spoke at a press conference in Yenagoa, as part of activities to celebrate this year’s Isaac Boro Day said much of the indiscriminate sharing of oil blocs were allegedly carried out when Buhari served as Petroleum Minister and Head of State.

    Business outfits in Yenagoa were closed yesterday following a directive by the IYC that shop owners should not operate in honour for Isaac Adaka Boro.

    Eradiri’s warning came about five days after the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) listed some oil blocs allegedly owned by former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Minister of Defence, General Theophilus Danjuma, ex-Minister of Petroleum, Alhaji Riwalnu Lukman, other Northerners and South-Westerners in Niger Delta region.

    The new militant group among other threats gave the Oil blocs’ other a two-week ultimatum to shut down operations at the Oil fields and evacuate their workers from the locations or have them blown up.

    Eradiri accused the President of denying Niger Deltans ownership of oil blocs while allegedly allocating same to his kinsmen and their cronies like a bazaar.

    He said : “One of the most salient issues that if not addressed will lead to more crisis is the issue of the oil blocs.

    “President Buhari was one time Petroleum Minister and Head of State in this country. Let us go and do an assessment of that time. The time when criminally they shared our oil blocs was under his watch either as Petroleum Minister or as Head of State. It is in one of those times.

    “Oil blocs were shared to one group. Look at it, either the person (owner of oil bloc) was a former military president or relative of the military president  or an in-law to a military president”, Eradiri said.

    The youth leader insisted that the allocation of the oil blocs did not follow due process outlined by the government.

    He called for a total review of the oil blocs to redress the injustice that such a manipulated process had brought against oil-producing communities of the Niger Delta.

    “And that is one of the biggest issues that if not addressed, there will be more Niger Delta Avengers, you will see groups and groups that will spring up until the issue is addressed”, he said.

    Eradiri described Boro as “an intellectual and fearless comrade” who stood up for the Niger Delta despite the oppressive tendencies of the government at the time.

    The IYC president noted that the issues of underdevelopment of the region for which Boro took up arms against the Federal Government “were still hunting us till today”.