Francis Sadhere
The Ijaw Youth Council, (IYC) Worldwide, has called on the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency overhaul the leadership of all its anti-corruption agencies in the country saying they are not effective in discharging their duties.
This was contained in a communiqué signed for IYC by its Spokesman, Barrister Eric Omare, and issued to journalists at the end of a two day summit of the Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide held at Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State recently.
According to the communiqué; “The Summit observed that the Anti-Corruption agencies in Nigeria are not effective in the discharge of their functions. Hence, the summit calls on President Jonathan to carry out an urgent and massive overhaul of the leadership of the various Anti-Corruption agencies to wit, the EFCC and ICPC.
IYC also resolved that there should be massive development of the agriculture and allied industries sector in the Niger Delta region to provide jobs for the teeming unemployed youths and make them self reliant.
They expressed worry about the alarming rate of unemployed youths in the Niger-Delta region despite substantial number of them having acquired various skills.
While appreciating the efforts of the federal government through the Presidential Amnesty Programme and other intervention agencies towards training the youths of the Niger-Delta to acquire various skills, IYC resolved that government efforts should be geared towards the economic empowerment of the youths of the Niger Delta and Nigeria towards making them to be self reliant.
“The summit notes that successive administrations and the President Goodluck Jonathan administration have spent so much money and recorded remarkable achievements in the agricultural sector. However, that substantial part of these monies is spent in other parts of the country especially in the Northern part to the detriment and negligent of the Niger Delta Region,” noted IYC.
It therefore, called on the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and the National Assembly to take deliberate steps to correct the in balance in the appropriation of resources towards developing the Agricultural sector.
According to the communiqué; “The IYC would set up committees and groups to engage the relevant government, non-governmental, international and donor agencies towards the development of the Agricultural sector in Ijawland and the Niger Delta Region.”
On the continuous despoliation of the Niger-Delta environment by oil companies and the activities of oil thieves threatening the existence of the people of the Niger-Delta and the development of the agricultural sector in the region, IYC called for urgent and massive remediation of the Niger-Delta environment to restore it to its pristine state.
“That the sport sector can be a veritable means of empowering the teeming unemployed Niger-Delta youths and address the problem of unemployment. Private individuals are called upon to complement government’s efforts in sports development in Ijawland and the Niger Delta region while taking special note of the contribution of Mr. Daniel Igali towards sports development in Ijawland.
“The summit also resolved to call on governments in the Niger Delta states to pay particular attention to girl child education
“The representatives of all the Ethnic Nationalities present at the summit agreed to live together in one Nigeria, form a common front and work together to address the problem of underdevelopment of the Niger-Delta region and Nigeria in general, while expressing their support for the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015,” it added.
The theme of the summit was ‘’Partnering for Prosperity and Sustainable Development’’ which aimed to redirect the focus of the youths of the Niger- Delta Region towards efforts that would result in economic prosperity and attainment of sustainable development in the Niger-Delta in order to sustain the existing peace in the region.
The Summit which was attended by thousands of Ijaw youths, government functionaries, corporate organizations, entrepreneurs also had in attendance youth leaders from other ethnic nationalities in Nigeria such as the Igbos, Yorubas, Urhobos, Itsekiri, Isoko, Ikwere, Ogoni, Anioma, Edo, Efik etc
