Sylvester Idowu in Warri
The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has hailed the decision of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) to declare a ceasefire against attacks on oil installations in the region.
The umbrella body of Ijaw youths said in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Eric Omare, that the decision is a welcome development.
It said the Council has always advocated dialogue as the means to the resolution of the Niger Delta crisis.
“As a result, we welcome the conditional declaration of ceasefire by the Niger Delta Avengers if it is actually from them”, it added.
IYC therefore called on the Federal Government, especially President Muhammadu Buhari, to take advantage of the ceasefire to aggressively dialogue with the people of the region to address the issues affecting the region.
“For the umpteenth time, we call for a bipartisan and sincere dialogue to resolve the root causes of the recurrent Niger Delta crisis. The dialogue should be issues-based and not to solve immediate problems and massage the ego of personalities.
“President Buhari must avoid listening to political hawks around him at the expense of the country’s unity and development”, it concluded.
