President of Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), Mr Udengs Eradiri, on Wednesday vacated office at the National Secretariat in Yenagoa ahead of IYC’s 2017 Convention scheduled for Thursday in Burutu, Delta State.

Addressing journalists, Eradiri noted that one of his greatest achievements in his three-year tenure was the reinstatement of the Maritime University in Delta which was earlier cancelled.

He said that he was elated by the decision of the federal government to reopen the university to bring education to the doorsteps of Niger Delta youths.

“I hold the rescinding of the earlier decision so high because education liberates the mind and unlocks doors of opportunities, looking back at our tenure in office, we can see that we have achieved peace in the region.

“I am happy to be part of the peace process and we are grateful to federal government, the Niger Delta region will continue to play supportive roles as partners in the Nigerian project,” Eradiri said.

He applauded Nigeria’s Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, for publicly acknowledging the roles played by the IYC during his recent visit to the region, saying that the commendation was a morale booster to the youths of the Niger Delta region.

Eradiri noted that he was vacating office to pave way for the incoming administration that would emerge from the IYC convention to immediately take over the secretariat of the youth body.

He said that he resisted the temptation to extend the tenure adding that there was no justification to remain in office beyond his tenure.

According to him, vacating the office ahead the elections was to ensure a smooth transition and create space in the secretariat for the incoming executive.

He said that the outgoing executive set up a functional secretariat, established a state of the art electronic library and resource centre which the incoming administration would inherit.