Niger Delta youths give FG seven-day ultimatum on resource control

Niger Delta youths under the aegis of the Young Democratic Movement (YDM) and South-South Youth Assembly (SSYA) have listed five demands and gave the Federal Government a seven-day ultimatum over Zamfara State government’s recent sale of N6b gold bar to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The groups urged the Federal Government to show equity and fairness in the appropriation of the country’s natural resources, insisting that every resource should be exploited like Niger Delta’s crude oil for the benefit of the entire country.

They cautioned the Nigerian Army against being used by the Federal Government in matters outside their constitutional responsibility.

Leader of YDM Kuseme Idiong and Speaker, SSYA, Victor Thompson, said if the Nigerian Army acceded to Federal Government’s ploy to allow some states to control resources in their domains, it should ensure that the same applied to other parts of the country.

At the media briefing titled: “Actualise One Nigeria Apothegm on Zamfara Gold, Not Only On Niger Delta Oil,” they observed that should the Nigerian Army be used for the Crocodile Smile, the South-South youth would be forced to protest against what they described as Federal Government’s glaring marginalisation.

The groups argued that Zamfara State Governor Bello Matawalle sold gold bar worth over N6b to the CBN, adding that the Federal Government should allow states of the Niger Delta region to sell their crude oil since it had allowed Zamfara to do so.

Meanwhile, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila assured that the issue of resource control would be dealt with equitably as soon as possible.

He stated this while responding to agitations for a total reform of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), explaining that the measure was aimed at ensuring that the next generation of Nigerians does not inherit dysfunctional systems.

Gbajabiamila, who expressed concern over the raging protests across the country, assured that he would not sign the 2021 budget without provisions for compensation of victims of police brutality in the country.

The Speaker promised not to sign off the 2021 budget that does not meet the reasonable demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), to which the Federal Government had already acceded.  (The Guardian)