Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has counselled members of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) to ensure they adopt violence-free approaches in their quest to achieve equity, justice, and a fair share of the distributable resources found in the Niger Delta region.
He gave the advice when the President of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, Dr. Alaye Tari Theophilus, led a delegation of leaders and members of the group on Solidarity Walk to Government House in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
This was contained in a statement by Nelson Chukwudi, Chief Press Secretary to the Rivers Governor.
The leadership of the IYC also conferred on Governor Fubara the prestigious honour by naming him the Grassroots General of Ijaw Nation.
Speaking, the Governor hailed the youths for their commitment to upholding and furthering the contributions made by the foremost rights advocate of the Niger Delta region, Isaac Adaka Boro, who fought until his dying days seeking justice for the region.
Fubara said while no person can stifle people of the region from speaking out against perceived or real marginalization, they must not resort to the destruction of valuable national assets.
He warned that he will not tolerate or support anything that will either disgrace Rivers State or embarrass the Federal Government from any group of people in the State.
He explained that if the International Oil Companies (IOCs) and the Federal Government are tackled for perpetrating marginalization and environmental pollution, the people of the region must not exacerbate the situation by vandalizing oil pipelines that also impact the environment negatively.
He said: “Violence does not solve problems. That’s the truth. We must all walk together, join hands together to give ourselves that thing that we want. So, I will appeal to you, your message will be transmitted to Mr President. But while we are doing that, you must be law-abiding.
“There should not be any vandalization of our oil pipelines. It is not the white men that are coming to do it. It is you, our people doing it. So, we need to discourage ourselves from it. We need to encourage ourselves to support the government. When production is high, revenue will increase, and those demands you are making will be met. The local governments and the states will get more amenities for you, jobs will be created, more money will be in your pockets,” he added.
In his speech, the President of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, Dr. Alaye Tari Theophilus, said IYC is 26 years and has remained committed to seeking desirable attention and addressing the many economic, political, and environmental injustice metted to the region.
Dr Theophilus listed some of their requests to include, an increase of 13% derivation to 50per cent, backed by an Executive Bill; remediation of Ijaw land of oil exploration activities are to continue, and inclusion of greater number of Ijaw people in mainstream governance at the Federal Government level and in oil sector governance.
