The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has again explained why it did not participate in the recent hunger protest, saying it perceived "dark sinister motives" behind it.
Addressing a press conference in Yenagoa on recent developments in the polity, the council said the display of Russian flag during the protest validated their position.
President of the IYC worldwide, Sir Jonathan Lokpobiri, emphasized that though the IYC is very empathic to the plights of Nigerians, the protest was ill-timed and misplaced.
Lokpobiri insisted that it was wrong for anyone or a group to agitate for the disintegration of the country or a change of government through the back door as well as other very questionable and strange demands.
He maintained that the spurious demands are far away from the Ijaw struggle for resource control and self-determination and a threat to Nigeria's democracy.
"It would be recalled that while the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) and its affiliate bodies did not participate in the national protest, tagged hunger protest to address the hardship faced by Nigerians that started from August 1st till August 10th 2024, the IYC clearly stated reasons why it did not join the protest with a promise that Niger Deltans and Ijaw Youths shall meet to design her own demands before the Federal Government", he said.
Making a list of fresh demands, the IYC said the Ijaw nation being the oldest tribe in Nigeria and the largest oil producing ethnic group that accounts for over 70 % oil reserve in Nigeria states deserves a fair share of the nation's welfare package.
To this end, the council urged the federal government to give the East/West road priority attention and end the sufferings of people plying the road on a daily basis.
While appreciating President Bola Tinubu for initiating the coastal road project, the IYC said it should also start from Bayelsa, Delta, Edo and Rivers, noting that if that is not done, the road might only cover the South West without getting to the South-South that is producing the funds for the project.
On the issue of refinery, the IYC boss said: "it is our demand that the refineries in the country must be encouraged to ensure that they produce refined products to serve the growing needs of Nigerians. We cannot depend solely or majorly on importation to serve the growing population in Nigeria. We must move away from dependency to a producing state.
"Today, going forward, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) and the Ijaw people want to have a say and a sense of belonging in the Oil and Gas Industry, for so many years, our people are hardly employed, neither the few ones that are there are hardly promoted. This dichotomy has to be reviewed to accommodate the Ijaw and the Niger Delta people.
"As a council we have taken a position on the Shell's Onshore Assets Sale to a Consortium that unless our people are given the right of first refusal and our people are included, we cannot accept the the purported sale of the Shell's Onshore Assets in the Niger Delta. Shell must also clean up our environment properly before its planned divestment.
"We are calling on the Federal Government of Nigeria and the multinational oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region to relocate their IOCs headquarters back to the Niger Delta region as their original operational base. This injustice has festered for too long.
"We need proper explanation on the dangerous move by the Federal Government of Nigeria for piping Gas from the Niger Delta to far away Morocco without our people included or participating in the process. The IYC is seriously concerned about this scary development."
