By Adewole Martins, Asaba.
The lists of delegates to the proposed national conference released two days ago by the Federal Government has triggered crisis in Delta state.
The popular Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) did not only reject the list but called for immediate inclusion of the forwarded
delegates of the council.
The conference was billed to kick off by March 17.
The group threatened that any attempt to shove out its delegates would be resisted.
According to the group, the non-inclusion was not only deliberate but “a calculated attempt to deny Ijaw youths
from the Niger Delta region from presenting their position on the age-long struggle for Resource Control and Self
Determination at the National Conference.”
A statement by the group’s spokesman, Eric Omare, a lawyer, and made available to teemipluse2.blogspot.com said that “the IYC views the exclusion as a deliberate attempt to deny Ijaw Youths and by extension Niger DeltaYouths from presenting their aged long struggle for Resource Control and Self Determination at the National Conference.
“It is on record, that the IYC has been one of the most consistent advocates of a National Conference to discuss the future existence of Nigeria.
“Indeed”, it continued, “a National Conference is one of the foremost demands of the IYC as enshrined in the historic Kaiama Declaration.
“Therefore, for the IYC, the umbrella body of all Ijaw Youths, worldwide, the fourth largest ethnic group in
Nigeria to be excluded from a list that has a total of twelve (12) nominees from Youth organizations is totally unacceptable.
“The IYC agreed to participate in the National Conference because we believed that it offers us an opportunity to
correct the age long marginalization of the oil rich Niger Delta region and to advance the cause for resource control and self-determination which the IYC has been advocating all these years.
“We therefore call on the relevant authorities to correct the exclusion of the IYC from participation in the National
Conference without delay.
The group therefore vowed to convene an all Ijaw youth conference similar to the now celebrated “Kaiama declaration” to brainstorm on the injustice and come out with a position on the nation's national conference.
“The Ijaw Youth Council (Worldwide) would in the coming days hold an all Ijaw Youths Conference to take a common position to be presented at the National Conference which
would kick off in the nation’s capital, Abuja, 17, March,2014.
“The all Ijaw Youths Conference which would take place at Agudiama Ekpetiama in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State would have in attendance Ijaw Youths from home
and abroad”
“The conference would be similar to the conference of Ijaw Youths which gave birth to the historic Kaiama Declaration.
All Ijaw Youths from all the Clans of Ijaw Nation from Ondo,
Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom States of Nigeria are expected to be in attendance”.
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