The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide has said the Water Resources Executive Bill currently on the floor of the National Assembly (NASS), is capable of renewing hostilities between the federal government and people of the Niger Delta region.
Speaking at a press conference centred on the state of the nation in Warri, Delta state on Saturday, Oweilaemi, described the bill as another โneo-colonisationโ ploy of the president Muhammadu Buhari-led administration against the oil-rich region.
Stating that the group will do all within its powers to resist the bill, he called on the NASS to either reject it โout rightly or, remove the clauses that seek to control the surface and groundwater resources including river beds and banks.โ
The Ijaw youthsโ president further stated that issues relating to water resources management be left under the control of state governments.
โOn the water resources executive Bill currently in the NASS, the position of IYC is that the said Bill is another neo-colonisation agenda by the Federal Government to annihilate and subjugate the destinies of the Niger Delta people thereby subjecting the people to eternal colony. We reject the Bill in its entirety as it will only end up causing disaffection between the Niger Delta people and the Federal Government of Nigeria.
โWe have perused the spirits and letters of the said Bill clause by clause. There is nothing in the proposed law that will benefit the Niger Delta people. This is a clear departure from the sacred constitutional requirements of enacting laws which are for the public good, public morality and public safety. A Bill that is designed to divest the people of natural resources in their domains cannot bring peace and good governance to the people.
โIYC therefore is of the view that the National Assembly should as a matter of public good and for the sake of our corporate coexistence reject the Bill. The management of the water resources should be left with the states. We on our own part will do everything humanly position within the ambit of the law to resist the passage of the Bill. We do not want a repeat of history in the region. This is a surreptitious means to reintroduce the butch cattle colony. Niger Delta people will resist it even with the last drop of our blood,โ Oweilaemi said.
Remarking on the staggering compliance of the sit-at-home order of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB), he re-echoed calls for the implementation of fiscal federalism and resource control.
Other issues the IYC harped on was the quick passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, with its initial 10% equity share for oil communities and the relocation of oil multinationalsโ, including Shell Petroleum Development Company, corporate headquarters to the Niger Delta.
