IYC alerts to possible implosion in N’delta over alleged neglect
Group seeks prosecution of contract, scholarship racketeers in Amnesty office
T HEIjaw Youth Council ( IYC) has alerted the Federal Government to renewed agitations and likely implosion over what it described as continuous neglect of the region.
Its national spokesman, Ebilade Ekerefe, said in a statement issued in Yanagoa, Bayelsa State that if not for the steps stakeholders had taken to maintain peace, security and stability, the Niger Delta region would have imploded, while the nation would have been bleeding by now.
IYC, the umbrella body of pointed the issues out the Ijaw youths worldwide, clearly. If for any reason also felicitated with forthe Niger Delta implodes, mer militant leader , we restate that the Federal Government Government and the Ekpemukpolo also known International Oil as Tompolo, as he turned Companies ( IOCS) should 50, saying the Niger Delta be held responsible,” the and especially the y ouths statement reads. were already losing IYC described Tompolo as patience. a freedom fighter that had “We are gradually getting made indelible marks in to that crescendo if the the struggle for the Federal Government fails advancement of the Niger to take urgent steps to Delta region at the risk of address the demands of his life and family. our people. It likened Tompolo to the
“The ominous signs are other Niger Delta’s Major there and as IYC, we had Jasper Adaka Boro, Harold
Dappa- Biriye and Ken SaroWiwa, saying the continued neglect of the region may lead to the emergence of many Tompolos to tackle Federal Government under the President Muhammadu Buhari. M
EANWHILE, the Niger Delta Anti- corruption Forum ( NDAF) has commended Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme ( PAP), Col. Milland Dixion Dikio for purging the amnesty office of corrupt elements.
It said the dismissal of some officers, who have been engaged in contract and scholarship racketeering in the PAP, was a huge relief and pointer to the fact that Dikio was effectively deploying his military experience in running the programme.
The group stated this after its meeting at the weekend, stressing that the dismissed officers were known to have enriched themselves through phony contracts and scholarship racketeering running into billions of naira. In a statement by its coordinator, Samuel Joe Samuel, the NDAF alleged that the questionable characters used fake contractors to plunder PAP’S resources.
It added that their corrupt activities had derailed the programme and constrained genuine efforts to meet PAP’S statutory obligations.
The group stated that previous managements of the programme tolerated the rot perpetrated by the criminal enterprise for too long due to external involvement of influential beneficiaries of the proceeds from phantom contracts and scholarship awards.