The Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) at the weekend in Yenagoa expressed its displeasure at the non-inclusion of its delegate in the National Conference scheduled to begin March 17, insisting that it must be represented at the conference.
In a statement issued by spokesman of the youth body, Mr Eric Omare, the IYC said the non-representation of Niger-Delta youths at the conference was “regrettable”.
He called on the conference organisers to review the delegates list to accommodate the IYC.
“The IYC views the exclusion as a deliberate attempt to stop Ijaw youths, and by extension Niger-Delta youths, from presenting their case in the age-long struggle for resource control and self-determination.
“It is on record that the IYC has been one of the most consistent advocates of a National Conference to discuss the future existence of Nigeria.
“Indeed, a National Conference is one of the foremost demands of the IYC as enshrined in the historic Kaiama Declaration.
“Therefore, for the IYC, the umbrella body of all youths of Ijaw extraction worldwide, the fourth-largest ethnic group in Nigeria, to be excluded from a list that has a total of 12 nominees from youth organisations is totally unacceptable,” Omare stated.
He said the IYC was convinced the National Conference offers the Ijaws an opportunity to correct what he called the age-long marginalisation of the peoples of the oil-rich Niger Delta region.
The IYC spokesman said the conference is a platform to advance the cause for resource control and self-determination which the IYC has been advocating for years.
“We, therefore, call on the relevant authorities to correct the exclusion of the IYC from participation in the National Conference without delay,”Omare said.
Meanwhile, National Coordinator, Patriotic Vanguard (PV), a non-governmental organisation, Mr Adesina Animashaun, yesterday urged those who took the Federal Government to court over the forthcoming national conference to rescind their decisions.
Animashaun said this while addressing newsmen in Lagos.
Some persons had dragged the Federal Government and the National Assembly to court seeking to stop the proposed conference.
He said that rather than instituting the court action, President Goodluck Jonathan should receive accolades for granting the wishes of Nigerians by approving the dialogue.
“The agitation for a National Conference has transcended so many administrations in Nigeria, yet it was only Jonathan that has made it possible.
“Nothing must stop the conference; those who went to court are the enemies of this country because Nigerians have been yearning for a conference that will address many of its problems,” Animashaun said.
The coordinator expressed dismay at the discordant tunes being played in some parts of the country over the conference.
“For the proposed conference to be meaningful and yield the expected result all ethnic or group in-fighting must stop.
“The conference has been designed to accommodate all the issues agitating the minds of Nigerians for so many years.
“What matters most is not who goes there to represent but that those issues and interests are presented and settled,” he said.
Animashaun said that although the conference was put in place by the Federal Government, Nigerians could make or mar it.
“The success of the national conference will depend mostly on participation and acceptance.
“Leaderships of all groups must see to it that they ensure in-house peace and adopt a common agenda that will be acceptable to all within their groups,’’ he said.
He said that what bothered the group most was the realisation that most people “are fighting to go to the conference not because of the love or interest of their people but for personal interest”.
According to him, people must support the collective position of their group and not continue to find fault or create doubts because they were not chosen as delegates.
“Nigeria is 100 years old. Every Nigerian must be committed to the rediscovery of the nation and must work to reverse the dwindling fortunes of the nation,” he said.