The Ijaw Youth Council has kicked against the proposal by Committee on Devolution of Power at the National Conference to allocate 5% of crude oil proceeds to a special intervention fund to rehabilitate North Eastern states ravaged by Boko Haram menace.
Spokesman of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Mr. Eric Omare stated that it would be tantamount to giving Boko Haram more money to destroy more lives. He also said that any such money from such funds should be sourced from resources in the Northern part of the country.
He said, “To increase derivation by five per cent and allocate five per cent to fund Boko Haram to kill more Nigerians, especially innocent children and women, is the worst decision that can be ever made.”
He added that nothing less than 50% derivation to the Niger Delta would be acceptable to the people of the region and called on delegates from the region to return home if they are incapable of properly stating the demands of the Niger Delta people.
The Ijaw Youth Council had earlier told the delegates of the National Conference that if the region did not properly resolve the issue of derivation and resource control that they would ensure Nigeria’s economy was brought to its knees.
In a statement released in May, the IYC said, “The Committee’s decision to maintain the status quo and refusing to address the crucial issue of resource control betrays the expectation of Nigerians and Niger Deltans in particular that the National conference would right the wrongs of the past, deepen our federal system of government and put Nigeria on the path to development.”
“This is nothing but a triumph of the retrogressive and provocative agenda of reactionary forces in Northern Nigeria”.
“The IYC wishes to warn that the decision of the Niger Delta people to give peace a chance to allow the federal government address the problems of the Niger Delta should not be taken as weakness.”
“The Niger Delta people are still willing, ready and capable of bringing the Nigeria economy to its knees.”
“The opposition of reactionary northern delegates to resource control and demand for scrapping of the NDDC, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and the Amnesty programme are provocative to the Niger Delta people and we may be forced to take drastic actions.”
Leave a Reply