Niger Delta crisis: Ijaw youths urge FG to be consistent in its position

The Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide has urged the Federal Government to be consistent in its bid to resolve the problem of renewed militancy in the Niger Delta region.
The IYC said the Federal Government in the past week had displayed obvious inconsistencies and lack of commitment towards finding a solution to the renewed hostilities.
According to IYC, it would be recalled that recently President Buhari while meeting with some political and religious leaders pleaded with militants to give peace a chance and on another occasion said the Federal Government was in the process of identifying the leaders of the different militant groups with a view to dialogue with them.
Speaking further, the IYC spokesman, Eric Omare, said a few days ago, the Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Abdullahi Muhammadu, told Nigerians that the issue of militancy would soon be a thing of the past as government was already discussing with the militants.
The IYC statement added: “However, it shows obvious contradiction and lack of commitment for Vice President Osinbanjo to state on Friday, July 8, 2016 at Akure that the federal government is not discussing with the militants because they are economic saboteurs and not freedom fighters, the group said.
“The IYC is constrained to ask; what is the correct position of the federal government on efforts at resolving the current hostilities in the Niger Delta? Is the federal government of Nigeria a boat without a captain for different officers of government to take different position on same issue?
“These contradictions clearly show that the federal government lacks any commitment towards resolving the current hostilities in the Niger Delta region. The two weeks ceasefire that was earlier declared seems to be a smokescreen to create the impression that government is committed to resolving the issues through dialogue whereas there is no such commitment.
“The IYC wishes to state for the umpteenth time that for there to be any meaningful resolution of the renewed militancy in the Niger Delta, President Buhari like his predecessors must provide leadership.
“The clash of centrifugal and centripetal forces within his government supporting and opposing efforts at resolving the current Niger Delta hostilities are playing out because of his failure to provide leadership.
“For any federal government effort at resolving the impasse to achieve the desired result, President Buhari must give a clear direction in order to gain the confidence of the people of the Niger Delta region and for officers of his government to key in.”