Malabo oil deal probe designed to witch hunt Niger Deltans –IYC

The umbrella body of Ijaw youths in the nine Niger Delta states of the country, Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide, IYC, on Tuesday, decried what it called the sustained persecution against the Ijaw people and Niger Deltans by the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, noting that peace will never be in the country if the persecution continues.
IYC, who specifically condemned the singling out of the Malabo oil deal for probe, said it is disheartening that while the other oil blocks awarded the same time and through the same process were left untouched, the Malabo oil deal has been subjected to sustained probe because it is owned by a Niger Deltan, and caution the Federal Government and foreign countries involved in the probe to hands-off for the sake of peace in the region.
President of IYC, Udengs Eradiri, who stated this during an interactive section with journalists in Yenagoa at the IYC Secretariat said, “Malabo probe is designed to witch hunt the Niger Delta people, the Federal Government should hands off the Malabo issue because you cannot be probing Malabo and others are enjoying the same process.”
According to Eradiri, “This is a country where oil blocks were awarded to and allocated to cronies yet nobody is saying anything about them but Malabo because it is owned by a Niger Deltan and Ijaw man, everyday Malabo is being probed for no reason. If they want to investigate Malabo, they should investigate every other person that has been awarded oil blocks in this country. They awarded it to their friends, cronies and their brothers.
“OPL 244, OPL245 and OPL 246 owned by Danjuma which were awarded the same day through the same process have been enjoying their business, other OML, uncountable were awarded to people from the north, they are enjoying their largesse but everyday Malabo is subjected to probe.
The federal government is not serious with the peace negotiation of the region, they are jumping from one excuse to the other. The president doesn’t need to visit the region to know what our problems are, they don’t have to visit before the maritime university starts, look at the east-west road in bad shape.
“Meanwhile the same process for the Malabo was the same process for others but because Malabo is owned by a Niger delta. The signature Bonus in this country is $20million but Malabo paid $210 million as Signature Bonus and yet nobody is talking, but we the Niger Delta people will not be quiet.
“This is how they brought down All States Trust Bank, Oceanic Bank, Diezani Allison, and Jonathan’s administration, dragging him in the mud every day. This is how this administration sacked Ijaw people in the NNPC, during the last promotion Bayelsans who were due for promotion were not captured. The federal government and the foreign countries should hands off Malabo, we will soon write to this foreign countries on the land there’re treading.”
The IYC President, who also carpeted the federal government over the continued delay in the negotiation with the Niger Delta leaders, stressed that the action of the federal government is an indication that the present administration was not ready to bring peace and development to the region, and pointed out that military action will not work in the region.
“Look at the negotiation in the Niger Delta, everyday they are neither here nor there. We are not expecting PMB to solve all the Niger Delta problems but he should give us his plans on how he will ensure that oil flows in the region, because military action will not work. IYC will continue to speak against the injustice in the Niger Delta,” Eradiri stated.
“Can we all see what is happening in the judiciary, the federal government has refused to confirm the chief justice of the federation, just because he’s an Ijaw man, we are the minority in the country but if you want the majority to enjoy peace you must be fair to us”