Buhari’s Endorsement Tears Ijaw Youths Apart

Buhari’s Endorsement Tears Ijaw Youths Apart

Emmanuel Addeh in Yenagoa

The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has expressed disappointment over the purported endorsement of President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election by a section of the council.

Consequently, the youth body has set up an investigative panel to probe the emergence of a statement released on Friday by the group’s spokesman, Mr Daniel Dasimaka.

In his statement, Dasimaka had based the group’s alleged support for Buhari on his purported intention to allocate oil blocks to oil-producing states.

Aside, the statement had said the president also waded off pressure to cancel the amnesty programme in 2015 even after certain highly placed individuals mounted pressure on him to do so.

On this ground, the statement said the president “deserves mass support from Niger Delta on his second term bid in order to consolidate on his agenda for the region and the country.”

However, the decision of the group had caused ripples in the IYC National Secretariat, saying Dasimaka took the decision to pledge the group’s loyalty to Buhari on his own volition and without due process.

In another statement by the IYC Secretary-General, Mr. Alfred Kemepado, the group said Dasimaka was on his own, adding that the council would definitely sanction him for taking an unauthorised decision to serve as deterrence to others.

He said Dasimaka was not directed by the congress and leadership of IYC before it issued a press statement, recalling that the spokesman had issued a statement in which he itemised a few achievements of Buhari.

Kemepado said, “Our findings show that Dasimaka did the abominable as he did this without recourse to congress, an act that is against our convention and laid down rules governing such critical statements.

“Dasimaka’s statement was an insult to past and present leaders of the council, insisting that the leaders had already set up for a disciplinary action against the
pokesman.

While the IYC Legal Adviser, Igbeta Ayibakuro, is to head the probe panel, other members of the committee are Freedom Atigbi, Secretary; Inspector Innocent, Igali Robert and Ernest Gogo.

It was learnt that the committee has been given five days to review the statement issued by the spokesman and ascertain whether it was done in good faith and in accordance with the council’s rules.

“Instead, we have questions to ask him with respect to the restructuring of this country, the Ogoni clean up and the cleanup of the Niger Delta and the relocation of oil multinationals to the Niger Delta.

We also have questions on the low funding of the presidential amnesty programme, the politicisation of the NDDC, the militarisation of the Niger Delta and the subsequent murder of our people and in recent times the non-repatriation of our funds as stated by a recent Supreme Court judgment.”

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