…Says Multiplicity of Militant Groups Not Problem To Dialogue

By Francis Sadhere

The Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC), Worldwide has called on President Mohammadu Buhari to speed up the genuine process of engagement with the people of the Niger Delta region if he wants militancy in the region to stop.

Niger Delta militants.

IYC made this call yesterday in a statement by its spokesman, Barrister Eric Omare while reacting to President Buhari’s appeal to militants in the region to stop attacks on oil installations.

According to the statement, “we call on President Buhari to put his appeal to action by starting the process of genuine and serious engagement with the Niger Delta people with a view to addressing the Niger Delta agitation for resource control once and for all.

The Ijaw group added that for militancy to seize in the region, the president has to lead the dialogue process in person like his predecessor and stop sending his subordinates instead.

The IYC was also of the view that the perceived multiplicity of militant groups in the region as stated by President Buhari was not an obstacle to engagement with stakeholders in the region.

It says, “While the IYC welcomes the personal appeal by President Buhari; we state that what is required is not just an appeal but for him to in person lead the dialogue with the Niger Delta people towards finding a lasting solution to the recurring militancy in the region.

“President Buhari must come to the negotiation table with stakeholders in the Niger Delta region as was done by his predecessors rather than through his subordinates.

“The sort of engagement the IYC expects from the federal government is a holistic dialogue with stakeholders in the region with a view to finding a lasting solution to the root causes of militancy and other agitations rather than engagement with a view to give palliatives to present agitators without addressing the issues responsible for the recurring agitations as was done in the past.”

IYC stressed that it would only support a dialogue that was geared towards addressing the fundamental issues responsible for militancy in the Niger Delta region.