The Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, on Thursday called on the President-Elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, to sustain the existing peace in the Niger Delta, to increase oil production.
This advice was handed down by the President of the council, Mr Udengs Eradiri, at a news conference in Abuja.
According to Eradiri, the existing peace could be maintained if the incoming administration sustained the Presidential Amnesty Programme for former agitators in the region.
“The Presidential Amnesty Programme for Ex-Agitators in the Niger-Delta region, which has greatly contributed to the sustenance of peace in the Niger-Delta region, should be sustained by the incoming administration.
“President Jonathan’s extra-ordinary peace building efforts in the Niger-Delta region is responsible for the resultant increase in oil production and increased oil revenue,” Eradiri said.
The Ijaw youth leader urged the incoming government to fund and strengthen the existing federal structures set up to develop the Niger-Delta region such as the Niger-Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and Niger-Delta Ministry.
“The incoming administration should address the problems of environmental degradation in the Niger-Delta region, including implementation of the UNEP report on Ogoni.
“It should also address the general environmental remediation in other parts of the region which are affected by environmental degradation,” Eradiri said.
He further advised that the recommendations of the National Confab should be implemented by the incoming government to deepen the federal system of government where the federating units will develop at their own pace.
According to him, the confab recommendations would address some of the imbalances responsible for political instability in Nigeria and the desperation to control government at the centre.
He also asked the incoming federal administration to start the process of national integration and run an all-inclusive government, to address the polarisation and disunity arising from the outcome of the presidential elections.###
