The umbrella body of the Niger Delta Youths, the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) today 2 of Feb 2016 unveiled a plan to protest against President Muhammadu Buhari policies towards the Niger Delta, by embarking on a one million man protest march.
These policies include the planned closure of the Maritime University
in Kurutie community of Warri South-West Local Government Area (LGA) of
Delta State.
The protest march, according to the IYC, will be organized as a Youth
Convention at the temporary site of the Maritime University, in Kurutie
community and will involve various Niger Delta communities, Student
Organisations, sympathizers of development education, the Higher
Institutions of Learning in the region, and clans. Local and
International Youth organizations are expected to halt the biased
policies of the present administration against the people of the Niger
Delta region.
The President of the IYC, Udengs Eradiri announced the protest march
during an interactive session with the media in Yenagoa. He argued that
although the protest was not specifically targeted against President
Muhammadu Buhari, its purpose was to send a message to the present
administration that the people of the region are tired of retrogressive
policies against the Niger Delta.
Mr. Eradiri noted that the modalities for the planned protest will be
announced in the next 7 days and invitations for the special convention
will be sent out.
"It (the protest) is to show to the world that the President is too
busy to closely monitor what is happening in the Niger Delta region,"
the IYC President said.
On the proposed cancellation of the Niger Delta Maritime University,
Mr. Eradiri urged people not to castigate the former Governor of Rivers
State and the Minister of Transport, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, for the
announcement of the cancellation.
"Amaechi is only a messenger sent by the Northern powers. Immediately
after President Buhari took office,the first casualty was the NIMASA
Managing Director.
Immediately after the new DG took over, the first action he took was
to suspend work on the Maritime University and the second action was to
suspend funding for Nigerians undergoing studies in foreign universities
because of a vendetta. So, people should not throw tantrums at Mr.
Amaechi. This matter started in June and we have written series of
letters to President Buhari,” Mr.Eradiri explained.
The IYC President also questioned the validity of President Buhari’s
claims that the university needed to be shut down due to alleged fraud.
Mr. Eradiri argued that the alleged fraud had not yet been proven, and
that the fraudulent activities had not led to the shutdown of the Office
of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and others.
Instead of simply shutting down the University, Mr. Eradiri argued,
the Federal Government should have launched an independent
investigation.

No comments:
Post a Comment