IYC Wants Creation Of Jobs For N’Delta Youths

The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has called for creation of jobs for people in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria as a means of ensuring stability in the area.
Chairman of IYC, Eastern Zone, Mr Ibim Ibiwari, who stated this in a chat with newsmen, said the oil pipeline surveillance contract awarded by the government would not holistically address the ‘no-job’ bias and poverty in the region.
Ibiwari noted that the surveillance contract would rather put the region in chaos if not properly managed.
According to him, “firstly, before awarding this contract that will increase oil exploration and the country’s GDP and turn the region into a crisis prone zone, the Federal Government would have tackled the root causes of what led the people to artisanal refining, by engaging them meaningfully with the promised modular refineries that will phase out all these issues and transform those involved into entrepreneurs that will be doing legitimate business and also be taxable by both the State and Federal Government respectively”.
Furthermore, he said, “the problem of the Niger Delta Region is basically unemployment and poverty. We all know that the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), as an interventionist parastatal, does not have a Board and does not operate in full capacity, just as the Niger Delta Ministry that has been politicised”.
The Eastern Zone IYC boss, therefore, asked the FG to ensure that the people of the region were carried along in the development of the region.
As far as he was concerned, as much as IYC condemns oil theft, many families nationwide are benefiting from the proceeds of illegal refining. He called on the government to take proactive steps towards curbing the menace.
“If the FG is yet to address this root cause, then it would be in their best interest to directly award the contract to leaders and stakeholders in various communities where this pipeline is being situated, and this cuts across the Niger Delta Region.
“This will give them a new sense of belonging and ownership mentality. Fact being that they understand  their respective areas and terrain, especially from the Ijaw extraction.
“This will nip in the bud the recent uproar over marginalization in the region, as long as they continue to coordinate and supervise the pipeline surveillance in their domain”, he said.

By: Tonye Nria-Dappa