IYC warns against attacks on Ijaw federal political appointees

*Hails Tinubu for renewing TSSNL surveillance contract

Godstime Simon

The umbrella body of Ijaw youths, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, has expressed worries over negative and uncomplimentary remarks made against Ijaw political appointees and leaders of Ijaw nation by fellow Ijaw people.

Describing the trend as regrettable, the IYC appealed to the Ijaw people to stop the attacks against their people, noting that it was not in their interest to act as a witch-hunt on their own. The struggle was to negotiate a better deal for the Ijaw people.

A statement on Thursday by its national spokesman, Amb Binebai Yerin Princewill, the IYC commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for renewing the pipeline surveillance security contract of the Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited Company (TSSNL), the appointment of Senator Heineken Lokpobiri as Minister for Petroleum Resources (Oil) State, High Chief Dennis Otuaro, the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Chief Samuel Ogbuku, MD/CEO of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and other worthy sons and daughters of the Ijaw nation who were appointed into the Tinubu administration

According to the IYC, these leaders are all competent, capable, and well-grounded in the discharge of their duties from their various offices and are critical assets in the Tinubu administration as they continue to deliver in their various offices.

Princewill said: “Today, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide is addressing the press to correct certain careless, untrue, and negative remarks made by some of our Ijaw brothers against our Ijaw political appointees and leaders of our dear Ijaw nation. These remarks have been circulating in the media for quite some time now.

“To our Ijaw brothers, henceforth, let us stop the needless attacks against our people as it is not in the interest of the Ijaw people to witch-hunt ourselves. We struggle to negotiate a better deal for our people. Resource control and self-determination are our key agitations, not to fight one another.

“One can hardly see out of the 371 ethnic groups in Nigeria, how their youth groups or groups within those ethnic stocks come out daily to attack their political appointees and leaders of their ethnic group. We must not make people think that the Ijaw people are not good. These selfish and careless remarks against our people must be stopped henceforth as they are demarketing our ethnic group.

“Apart from the Ijaw political appointees who have been practically visible in the discharge of their duties across the Niger Delta region and Nigeria at large, we are yet to feel the positive impact of others in the country.

“As Ijaw people, we cannot say that out of the 45 ministers in the Federal Executive Council, it is only the one Minister from Ijaw that is not good enough. And then, out of the Development Commissions in the country, it is only Dr. Samuel Ogbuku’s led NDDC that is bad simply because he is an Ijaw man.

“We cannot also say that out of the many federal government agencies, the Dr. Dennis Otuaro led Niger Delta Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) is bad because he is an Ijaw man. Daily, we use national and international media to call our few appointees and leaders unprintable names.

“Again, we have so many business tycoons in this country doing major contracts with the Federal Government of Nigeria, but it is only the Tantita Security Services that is now the problem of some of our Ijaw people simply because Tompolo is an Ijaw man. Perhaps his kindness in spreading wealth across the region and his fight to protect our environment, which has astronomically increased oil production like never before in recent times, is now a problem to some people. Sometimes, one begins to wonder what we truly want as Ijaw people.

“Now, what we are making people believe in the Nigerian state is that any sensitive office that has an Ijaw son or daughter as head means that he or she is not good enough and must be brought down by the same Ijaw people.

“As it stands, no one talks about NIMASA, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), the newly established Federal Regional Development Agency, the Ministry of Agriculture, Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, and the host of others, simply because no Ijaws are heading them. This demeaning action against the Ijaw ethnic nationality by our people must be stopped now!”

The spokesman said the IYC and the entire Ijaw nation were pleased with the leadership of TSSNL, headed by High Chief Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo; Dr. Dennis Otuaro of the PAP; Dr. Samuel Ogbuku of the NDDC; Senator Heineken Lokpobiri of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources (Oil), as well as Governor Siminalayi Fubara, who is seriously transforming Rivers State like never before.

“Our solidarity as a council will continue to be with them all,” Princewill said.