President Muhammadu Buhari
From: Arodiegwu Eziukwu, Yenogoa
The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), has expressed mixed feelings and concerns over the inaugural address of President Buhari in relation to the Niger Delta region.
According to a statement issued by Mr Eric Omare, Spokesman of IYC and made available to journalist on Sunday, there was need to review the terminal date to accommodate those who were yet to complete the scheme.
“President Buhari in his speech said that the amnesty programme for ex-Niger Delta agitators would end by December, 2015.
“The IYC appreciates the fact that the amnesty programme cannot continue forever and therefore must have a terminal date.
“However, the questions on the lips of beneficiaries and stakeholders in the Niger Delta region are: what would happen to those that have not been trained at as December 2015.
“And what about those still undergoing training or have not completed their training?,” Omare stated.
Omare explained tha termination of the programme would throw up challenges for beneficiaries of the programme who are still undergoing training and are at different level of their training.
The IYC spokesman said the group expects the federal government to allay fears of beneficiaries who are in different parts of the world and are worried that their trainings may be affected if the programme is terminated in December 2015.
Omare said the case of a substantial number of ex-agitators who have not been trained is even more worrisome.
The IYC therefore appealed to the federal government to address these challenges before the programme is terminated.
On streamlining projects and programmes in the Niger Delta region to make them more effective, IYC would support any step of the federal government to strengthen institutions responsible for the development of the Niger Delta region.
The youths applauded the planned streamlining of policies to rapidly develop the region.
“However, we wish to advise that any effort towards restructuring of developmental institutions and projects should have the input of the people of the region at the heart of the process.
“The people of the Niger Delta must be the ones to decide the shape of developmental institutions in the region,” IYC further stated.
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According to the statement, IYC had expected President Buhari to address issues such as cleaning up of the Niger Delta environment, implementation of the UNEP report on Ogoni.
He said that also left out were the menace of oil theft which has greatly contributed to environmental degradation in the Niger Delta region which he promised to tackle during the presidential campaigns in his inaugural address.
The IYC expressed disappointed that President Buhari failed to address these key issues which are dear to the Niger Delta people in his inaugural speech and urged the president to fulfill his promises to the Niger Delta people
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