jaw youths yesterday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to go after barons stealing oil in large quantities.
They spoke after an emergency meeting.
Rising from the meeting, the youth, under the auspices of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, urged Buhari to develop and implement an economic blueprint for the region as a precondition for his proposed war against oil thieves.
They said they would not stand against the President’s moves to curb oil-related theft in the region.
President, IYC Udengs Eradiri, who spoke at a news conference after the meeting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, said: “We will support the government only when there is a clear cut economic plan that will serve as an alternative for the people.”
As part of economic rejuvenation of the region, he asked the President to send redundant vessels and those yet to berth in Lagos to ports in Warri, Port Harcourt and Calabar to create jobs and empowerment for the youth.
He praised the President for his eloquent speech during his visit to the United States, saying the President made the country proud.
Eradiri said: “We want to commend President Muhammadu Buhari for his trip abroad. During then, he was able to articulate issues concerning Nigeria’s policies, especially the Niger Delta. We must commend him for the way he addressed the world about Nigeria. Truly, he is the pride of Nigeria.
“But while addressing the world, he raised certain issues which we need to make input: He talked about curbing oil theft in the Niger Delta, which we support fully, his approach towards curbing the menace because the stealing of oil is actually degrading our environment.
“Also, the development is actually a crime against humanity when people carry out certain actions that in the long run destroy the people’s land and their way of life.
“But we must say that this oil theft did not start today. It is the attitude of successive governments that have led to our people struggling to survive. We want him to go after the big guns – those merchants who bring in big vessels to steal oil. They are the people he should go after.
“We are not against the stoppage of vandalism of oil pipelines but he must have an economic plan. Our people right now need to survive. There is no more fishing in our areas and our lands can no longer produce the kind of things they used to produce. It is our position that while Buhari is coming to fight the menace, he must come with an economic plan.
“We are saying that all those vessels in Lagos doing nothing, waiting to berth should be ordered to the ports in Warri, Port Harcourt and Calabar. By so doing, a lot of economic activities would begin to spring up in these areas and support the local economies.”
He also observed that many oil-related projects in the region had been abandoned by the Federal Government.
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