IJAW youths under the umbrella of Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, Worldwide, has rejected the scrapping of the Ministry of Niger Delta and replacing it with Ministry of Regional Development, demanding the immediate reinstatement of the former.
IYC said as a stakeholder, they are seriously opposed to the scrapping of the Ministry of Niger Delta, describing it as blow to the region and its people, while stating that the Federal Ministry of Regional Development cannot be seen as a replacement of the Niger Delta Ministry.
In a statement signed by its Spokesman, Amb. Binebai Princewill, IYC, pointed out that the Nigerian economy will almost be nothing without oil and gas that come from the Niger Delta, noting that till date, despite these natural resources that have made Nigeria an economically viable nation, the Niger Delta remains the most abused, violated, economically raped, underdeveloped and neglected region season after season, government after government.
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He said: “The IYC as critical stakeholder in the Niger Delta, is seriously opposed to the scrapping of the Niger Delta Ministry. The decision and action of Mr. President and the Federal Executive Council to dissolve the Ministry of Niger Delta is a devastating blow to the region and its people. The move reeks of neo-colonialism and internal colonialism. It is a perpetuation of the exploitation and marginalisation of the Niger Delta, a stark reminder of the ongoing struggle for self-determination and resource control. The Ijaw Youth Council stands in solidarity with the people of the Niger Delta to challenge this oppressive and subjugating decision.
“The Ijaw Youth Council demands for the urgent reinstatement of the Niger Delta Ministry. It is very appalling to note that while we have the Northwest Development Commission, Northeast, south-east, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the entire Federal Executive Council (FEC) only decided to tamper with the Ministry of Niger Delta, under the guise of changing the nomenclature to Federal Ministry of Regional Development to accommodate and oversee all regional commissions
“Where is the South- South Development Commission? Since the Federal Ministry of Regional Development headed by Abubakar Momoh as minister is now a general Ministry, where is our Niger Delta Ministry or its replacement, the now Federal Ministry of Regional Development cannot be seen as a replacement of the Niger Delta Ministry.”
“From the very beginning, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had wanted to scrap the Ministry. As a council, we are not going to accept this now and not even in the future. We have never seen anywhere in the world where a people that sustain the entire country with the wealth in their land will be subjected to such unbridled Sisyphusian pain and misery.
“Nigerian economy will almost be nothing without oil and gas that come from the Niger Delta. Till date, despite these natural resources that have made Nigeria an economically viable nation, the Niger Delta remains the most abused, violated, economically raped, underdeveloped and neglected region season after season, government after government.
“A situation where the Niger Delta is moving from a paltry 13% to a mere 3% as contained in the PIA for oil bearing communities while a whooping 10% for frontier basins is also another political wickedness meted out on our people.
“The Niger Delta as a neglected and underdeveloped region, by all positive moral standards, has the right and privilege to be blessed with numerous possible agencies and commissions to carter for our development. Conscious of the fact that our oil money is minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year and decade by decade being used to fund several agencies, states and commissions in Nigeria. No sacrifice is too big for the Government to do for the Niger Delta people.
“The essence of Government ought to be collation of what the masses truly want and not what few privileged individuals want against the general population. This act of imposing decisions on the masses without their consent must stop as it is a recipe for chaos.
“The Niger Delta region cannot only be making sacrifices for Nigeria without the country reciprocating positively. It is a region that is economically milked to bleeding point, environmentally despoiled, subalternised and politically subjugated. The renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is gradually and systematically unfolding as a punitive mission against the Niger Delta and Ijaw people.”