The Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC) on Wednesday urged President Muhammandu Buhari to lead the ongoing dialogue with Niger Delta militants over renewed hostilities on oil infrastructure rather than engaging self serving politicians.

The President of the IYC, Mr Udengs Eradiri, who spoke with journalists in Yenagoa, said that the President should take the bulls by the horns by sitting at the head of the negotiation table, like his predecessors did to find lasting solution to the crisis.

Eradiri said he will not be part of any negotiation team unless the President sits at the head of the table. He reiterated that the issues on hand was not about the Ijaws or the Niger Delta people alone, but that of recurring leadership failures in the country.

He said: “There is nothing on ground; I don’t trust the dialogue process. There has been plethora of negotiations in the past, all government need to do is to take a holistic approach to the problems of the Niger Delta.

“The issue is not about the Niger Delta people or the Ijaws, it is about leadership failure in Nigeria.

“That’s why I have been praying for the President to be hale and hearty; the President should stand up, take the lead in solving the problems, there are success stories of his predecessors taking such step.

“That’s why the groundnut pyramid disappeared, when the government was not ready to cure the epidemic that was in vogue then, cocoa disappeared from the South West when they could not face it, tomato is disappearing because leadership is not responsible.

“The problem has been the failure of leadership, it is failing; let us restructure Nigeria.”

Eradiri also advocated implementation of the National Conference report, saying that

the confab was attended by all the geo-political zones and would be a very good starting point in restructuring the nation.

He maintained that those fanning the embers of disunity within the IYC were being sponsored by external forces, adding that the present leadership was not deterred from carrying out its functions.

Eradiri, who just returned to the country from the United Kingdom, where he held meetings with Ijaws in the Diaspora, said the IYC would soon activate its disciplinary measures to deal with the erring members.

•Photo shows IYC President Udengs Eradiri.

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