The Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, Western Zone, led by Dr Doubra Okotete, on Sunday, applauded President Muhammadu Buhari over the appointment of Capt. John Roland Tonlagha as Executive Commissioner on Health and Safety Environment, HSE.
This is contained in a statement signed by Olu Derimon and Lugard Izuokumor, Secretary and Information Officer, Western Zone, respectively.
The IYC described the appointment as a momentous call that will address the devastating environmental setbacks in Ijaw communities and the Niger Delta by extension.
“As a socio-cultural organization empowered to speak for the socioeconomic and adverse environmental effects on Ijaw people, we believe our brand new Executive Commissioner HSE who is an Ijaw man, understands the issues affecting our ecosystem and our people.
“The IYC’s leadership in Western Zone [Delta, Edo and Ondo States] will give Mr Tonlagha the necessary support and by extension the commission where a conducive atmosphere will be created for the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) for the overall good of Ijaw Communities and indeed the Niger Delta at large,” it said.
The IYC expressed astonishment over the delay in the constitution of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Board.
According to the IYC, “Ijaw people and Niger Deltans in general, particularly the youths are becoming agitated by the excessive politics hovering around constituting a substantive board of the NDDC.
“We, therefore, call on President Buhari to take thorough introspection to the kind of legacy he may wish to imprint in constituting the substantive board which sole mandate is the development of the Niger Delta.”
