The Ijaw Youth Council has declared that it will no longer condone incessant gas flaring by oil companies in the Niger Delta.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by the newly sworn-in President of the IYC, Dr. Theophilus Alaye, shortly after he took over the mantle of leadership from Peter Igbifa.
The threat is coming hours after the House of Representatives promised to recover over $9bn gas flaring fines imposed by the federal government on erring local and foreign oil companies in the country.
Reacting to the development, Alaye stated that gas flaring in the Niger Delta has remained a source of environmental and health concern for his people for many years.
He pledged that his mandate as the ninth president of the Ijaw nation was to promote, defend and demand justice for the people.
“I must state it clearly that we will no longer condone incessant gas flaring and lackadaisical practices of the IOCs that have cost us a lot as a people. We shall strive to maintain the stability in council and the Ijaw nation under my leadership.
“We are in an era where policies of the government are anti-Ijaw and undermine our collective contribution to national sustainable development. As president of the council, I will agitate for resource control beyond oil and gas. We have been undermined for too long.
“It is abysmal when our rich water bodies are abandoned. And we see ship berths in Lagos when we have the best seaport in West Africa. What we keep hearing is that our environment is not safe enough. This must stop under my watch as president of the council as we demand activation of our seaport,” he said.
The IYC president also urged the federal government to explore areas where the region has a competitive advantage to ameliorate the uncontrollable suffering of its people.
He said, “In my government, political players in the Niger Delta region must up their game in the discharge of their political duties to project the concerns of the region as we shall be asking questions of stewardship and contributions to the development of the region.”
