Mkpoikana Udoma 16 June 2017, Sweetcrude, Port Harcourt – The Ijaw Youths Council, IYC, has charged the federal government to urgently put up modalities for the commencement of the restructuring of the country.
The Eric Omare-led IYC said the call is imperative owing to the quit notice order issued by the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum to Igbos residing and doing business in the northern part of the country to vacate their territory within 90 days.
Spokesperson of IYC, Mr. Henry Iyalla, said restructuring the country will allow component states to manage and control the ownership of their resources and entrench true federalism.
“We at Ijaw Youth Council urges the Federal Government to look at the issue of restructuring this country so component states can manage and control the ownership of her resources which is in tandem with the concept of true federalism.
“This will be a step in the right direction on the part of the Federal Government especially now that Nigeria is in urgent need of a way forward.”
The Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide also condemned in strong terms the quit notice order given by the Northern youth body to Igbos to vacate the northern region before October 1, 2017.
Iyallah explained that secession has been an age-long word known by many modern democracies and does not translate to a death sentence.
He challenged the Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government on strong and purposeful leadership aimed at arresting the situation at its preliminary stage.
He said: “We vehemently condemns the recent statement made by the spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum, Ango Abdullahi in support of a mandatory and forceful relocation order earlier made by the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum and similar youth groups in the North for all Igbos residing and doing business in the North to vacate their territory within 90 days.
“This quit notice order made by the youth’s body and corroborated by the Elders goes to show that they are either ignorant or not conversant with the constitutional provision which guarantees the right to own properties and live anywhere within the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“You cannot forcefully ask a person to leave your territory because he chooses the part of secession or self-determination.
“We expressly state our disdain for such statement coming from the Elders as such words are not only symptoms but actually the cause of the unwarranted civil war and Nigeria cannot afford same now.”
