IYC warns Amnesty office against hosting events outside Niger Delta

Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) has warned the office of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) against hosting meetings and other events outside the Niger Delta region.

Secretary-general of the umbrella body of Ijaw youths worldwide, Alfred Kemepado, in a statement, warned that the youths would rise against the office if it continued to host Niger Delta-related events in other states.

Kemepado told the PAP coordinator, Prof. Charles Dokubo, that taking activities concerning the Niger Delta to other states was adversely affecting the economy of the region.

According to him, investigation by the IYC leadership showed that most of PAP events under Dokubo were hosted in Lagos.

He argued that the office was giving the region a bad name and creating an impression that the Niger Delta was unsafe, adding that the office was further starving the region of resources.

“We won’t fold our arms and allow this ugly trend to continue. The Amnesty office exists to cater for the interest of the Niger Delta region. It is supposed to promote the region by creating activities in the states of the Niger Delta.”

Insisting that the region was safe, serene and capable of hosting all Amnesty office events, he accused Dokubo of playing the script of the region’s detractors who were bent on demarketing the region for economic gains.

“We are calling on Professor Charles Dokubo to patronise vendors of Ijaw and Niger Delta origin.

The office is set up to bring about peace in the Niger Delta by developing economic and educational activities among many activities and not to turn themselves to Federal Government spies as they seem now,” he said.