Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has again demanded the relocation of the offices of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) to the Niger Delta region.
The amnesty office and the ministry, the group said, would function better when they are located in the region where their duties cover.
The IYC president, Pereotubo Oweilaemi, who made these demands during the celebration of Boro Day in Kaiama, Bayelsa State, also appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to make Prof. Nelson Brambiafa the substantive managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
“Just like NDDC is cited in the region, the ministry and the amnesty office can only effectively function once they are relocated to the region. Those offices have no business stationed in Abuja,” he said.
Oweilaemi, who seized the opportunity of the anniversary of the historic Kaiama Declaration to restate the position of the Ijaw nation on re-structuring, true federalism and resource control, said Buhari should reward the outstanding performance of Brambiafa for bringing the desired peace to the Niger Delta.
His said: “51 years after Isaac Boro laid down his life for the unity of this country, the issues that caused its near collapse have not been addressed thereby threatening the country’s continuous corporate existence.”