The Ijaw Youth Council ,IYC, Worldwide, has again called on President Bola Tinubu not to make the mistake of appointing non-Ijaw as the Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, noting that PAP is not like Ministry of Niger Delta, or like the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, as the price the Ijaws solely paid for the establishment of the programe is too big a price for a people to pay.

This is just as the youth group also warned against the selling of Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, assets to cronies of the federal government without a proper cleanup of the polluted Niger Delta environment and giving the Ijaws and Niger Deltans the rights of first refusal.

IYC in a statement by its Spokesman, Amb. Binebai Princewill, said the group have been keenly following political developments of the Tinubu led federal government and so far are beginning to see that the government is exhibiting high level of hatred against the Ijaw people.

Princewill said: “Today, the Ijaws constitute about 98% of the Presidential Amnesty Programme just as ijaw communities occupy almost 70% of all oil and gas resources within and no other tribe in the Niger Delta region can ever claim to be more accommodating, patriotic to other ethnic groups than the Ijaw people in the Niger Delta struggle for liberation of the whole region bearing in mind our development is collective and challenges similar.

“However, the Ijaws have overtime championed minority rights movement in Nigeria. In 1966 our late hero Maj. Gen. Jasper Adaka Boro declared the Niger Delta republic for whose sake he laid his life, till date Boro is regarded as champion of minority rights movement in Nigeria. Boro fought for a united Nigeria until he was killed during the Nigeria Civil war in May 9th 1968.

“The Ijaws also fought for the establishment of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), as we speak, every tribe in Niger Delta is enjoying the NDDC. 

“However, the 2009 agitation of the Ijaws also gave birth to the establishment of the Niger Delta Ministry under late President Umaru Musa Yara’Adua that is now benefiting all tribes in the region.

“In view of all these, if we are to check, in all of these, it is the Ijaw areas considering our predominantly riverine terrain are the least people to have benefitted from these Ministry and Commissions compared to our sister tribes which we are not against in any way. 

“It is at the risk of repetition that we are reiterating that while we will not banter words with our sister tribes that are suffering same issues of deprivation and neocolonization owing to our minority status in Nigeria, we are reiterating our call to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to make the mistake of appointing non-Ijaw as the Amnesty Programme Coordinator. 

“The Niger Delta Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) is not like any other Ministry or Commission like the NDDC or Niger Delta Ministry, the price the Ijaws solely paid for the establishment of the PAP is too big a price for a people to pay. The Ijaws have been magnanimous in accommodating other tribes in the Programme so far, hence we are confident that President Bola Tinubu will not do the mistake of appointing Non-Ijaw as its coordinator. “

On Shell’s divestment plans, he said: “Few months ago, the Tinubu led Federal Government of Nigeria soreptituosly sold AGIP OIL COMPANY to its crony Oando without following the normal processes. Our people are not holding any key offices in any of the MDAs. 

“Again they are trying to collaborate with the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited to sell the company to a Consortium owned by cronies of the Federal Government of Nigeria without cleaning our environment, an evil the IYC has spoken against and will follow up to the later until the Ijaws and Niger Deltans are given the rights of first refusal. Our people must be included otherwise this purported sale will not work.”

On the agitation from other ethnic groups within the Niger Delta, IYC said: “the IYC is sounding a note of warning to some elements masquerading as ethnic bigots to choose their words wisely while addressing the press. You can quietly make your points while agitating for your ethnic groups, we don’t have a problem with them but talking out of point is what the IYC is taking exception from.

“What has the IYC call on Tinubu to thread carefully in the PAP matter got to do with former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, INC, Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited that some Youth leaders are talking about? The reference to the above is not in tandem and a complete deviation from the subject matter. 

“There is no connection between the Amnesty Programme and that of the Pipeline Surveillance Security Contract, maybe perhaps some people don’t have sufficient knowledge about the Surveillance contract that Tantita is not the only firm handling the Surveillance job in the Niger Delta region. There were other companies before Tantita and even now, other companies are still there Securing facilities in designated areas, so why always mentioning Tantita?. Only misinformed elements will not be aware that Tantita has perfectly done a clean job by improving the oil revenue of the federation.” (VANGUARD NEWS)