The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), through its president, Comrade Udengs Eradiri, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the 2015 presidential election or prepare not to return to the Niger Delta.
Speaking
during the groundbreaking ceremony of NIMASA Shipyard and Dockyard and
the Nigerian Maritime University, Okerenkoko, at Okporoza, in Gbaramatu
kingdom of Delta State, on Saturday, Eradiri commended President
Jonathan for the initiation of Almajiri schools in the North; the
convocation of the ongoing National Conference; improved road and power
infrastructure, among others.
The
ceremony coincided with the annual festival of Amasekume of the people
of the kingdom, but the president did not allow cutural troupes to stage
their performances based on the present mood
of the nation.
Meanwhile,
the president has admitted that influential people in the country are
those involved in illegal oil bunkering, maintaining that it has been
difficult to curb the menace.
Nigeria reportedly loses about $6 billion to oil theft annually.
Addressing
a mamoth crowd gathered at Okporoza, President Jonathan, who appealed
to illegal oil bunkerers to halt the economic sabotage, admonished foot
soldiers being used to desist from pollutting the creeks in the name of
oil refining and urged them to consider the future of unborn
generations whose existence, he said, was being gradually jeopardised.
“There
are big people involved in illegal oil bunkering. From the day I came
in, even from when I was the deputy governor in Bayelsa State, I have
been totally committed to reducing the menace. But it’s difficult. We
are trying to use different methods now,” he added.
No comments:
Post a Comment