The attention of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has been drawn to
a statement credited to the Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi
to the effect that he would have stopped the planned dredging of the Warri port
if he was not from the South-South region over youth disturbances. Rt. Hon.
Amaechi was reported to have made the comment at the Palace of the Ovie of
Uvwie in Delta State during the reception in honour of the Minister of State,
Labour and Productivity, Chief Festus Keyamo on Thursday, November 14, 2019.
When the story was reported in the media we had initially thought that the
Minister was quoted out of context. However, having waited for more than three
days without correction from the Minister's media office, we wish to correct
the wrong impression created in the said media report as follows THAT:
1. The IYC completely condemn
the statement made by Rt. Hon. Amaechi that youths are disturbing the
commencement of the proposed Warri port dredging because it is very far from
the truth and calculated to paint the youths of the Niger Delta region in the
wrong light before the Nigerian public.
2. On the contrary, we
state clearly without fear of contradiction that there is no existing contract
to dredge the Warri port that is being delayed by youth disturbances.
3. For the purpose of
clarity, we state that sometime in 2018, the federal government announced its
intention to carry out dredging of the Warri port channel so as to allow bigger
vessels use the Warri port and make the port functional. In response and to
create the conducive environment for the project to take-off, the youths of
Ijaw and Itsekiri under whose area the dredging was supposed to take place at
their own initiative and expense organized a sensitization workshop and indeed
set up an advocacy team which went round the communities affected to allow for
peaceful dredging in the interest of the Warri economy. This initiative was
widely reported by the media and the Nigerian Port Authority management was
excited by the initiative of the youths.
4. The Warri port
dredging was supposed to be in three phases; which are the dredging of the
Escravos bar, construction of the breakwater and the dredging of the Warri port
channel from Escravos to Warri. After the sensitization workshop organized by
the Ijaw and Itsekiri youths, there was supposed to be a meeting between the affected
communities and stakeholders with federal government officials before the
commencement of the first phase of the work which is the dredging of the
Escravos bar. However, instead of meeting with the communities and
stakeholders, Rt. Hon. Minister Amaechi as Minister of Transportation directed
and handed over all community rights to a party chieftain from Delta State from
one of the ethnic groups at the expense of the generality of the communities
and stakeholders without regard to the multiethnic sensitivity of the Warri
area. However, the Ijaw leadership saw that this was another attempt by Rt.
Hon. Amaechi to create room not to go on with the dredging as he is now doing.
Therefore, the affected communities did not raise any issue and allowed the dredging
of the Escravos bar to go on without any problem. In this dredging, the
communities and stakeholders were not involved in any way, hence they are not in
a position to know if the dredging was actually done up to specification or
not.
5. The Escravos Bar
dredging was done without any disturbances whatsoever despite Minister
Amaechi's provocative conduct. Therefore, we are amazed that Hon. Amaechi is
now accusing youths of the South-south especially from the Warri area of acting
as a hindrance to the Warri port dredging. If we may ask Hon. Amaechi, who are
the youths disturbing the Warri port dredging and when did the engagement with
the youths took place? Is there a contract in place to dredge the Warri port by
the Federal Government and who is the contractor and when was the contract
awarded? To the best of our knowledge, after the dredging of the Escravos bar,
the next phase ought to be the construction of the Escravos breakwater and then
dredging of the channel from Escravos to Warri and none of these contracts has
been awarded. So which dredging contract and youth disturbances is Amaechi
talking about? Who are the youth or community representatives that have been
arguing with Amaechi over the Warri port dredging in the past six months?
6. It is obvious that Rt.
Hon. Rotimi Amaechi despite being from the South-South is allergic to anything
development of the region. He always hides under spurious reasons to opposed any
developmental initiative of the region just as he did with the Nigerian
Maritime University, Okerenkoko.
7. Consequently, we call
on the general public especially President Buhari to completely disregard the claim by Minister Amaechi that youths are obstructing the dredging of the Warri
port channel. On the contrary the youths have been very supportive of the Warri
port channel dredging but Minister Amaechi seems to be playing politics
with the dredging. However, Minister Amaechi should remember that he would not
be Minister of Transportation forever and at the end of this tenure he would be
asked what he achieved for the south-south region just as he used to ask former
President Jonathan.
Signed for the Ijaw Youth
Council (IYC) worldwide:
Eric Omare, Esq.,
President, IYC
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