The Ijaw Youth Coucil has expressed support for President Muhammadu Buhari’s bid to accomplish the long-awaited clean-up exercise of the Ogoni area of Niger Delta.
The President is expected to be in Rivers state on Thursday for the flag-off of the exercise.
Speaker of the group, Nkpon Amon, pledged the group’s readiness to partner with the Federal Government for a successful exercise.
Amon made the pledge in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Port Harcourt.
He said that IYC would take advantage of President Buhari’s visit to address the youths of the area on need to avoid politicising the UNEP Report implementation.
“We are ready to give all the necessary support to ensure that the President’s visit yields its expected dividend which would translate to a better environment in Ogoni land.
“We shall also advise our youths against using political sentiments to disrupt the good intent of the UNEP Report implementation.
“Ogoni is amongst the Niger Delta communities and so the UNEP Report implementation has always been part of our request to the federal government.
“This clean-up exercise would be recorded as one of the fulfilled campaign promises of the President to the Niger Delta people and we as a body, applaud this exercise,” he said.
Amon also urged various committees of the Federal Government in charge of the clean-up to incorporate youths from the area in the implementation exercise.
According to him, the youths should be well informed on the good intent of the Federal Government’s UNEP Report implementation to avoid misconception by uninformed youths.
However, Amon said that IYC was united in its activities and had no factions.
NAN
