Odahiekwu Ogunde, Yenagoa
Umbrella body of Ijaw youths, the Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide, has elected Mr Peter Igbifa as the eighth President of the council.
Igbifa emerged from a peaceful election in Oporoza community in Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State.
Also elected are Saviour Olali, deputy president; Frank Pukon, Secretary-General; Ebilade Ekerefe, spokesman; Sunny Ebiye, Financial Secretary; Timilaemi Ebifiobo, Treasurer; and Tina Tobusi, Women Leader, among others.
Speaking on behalf of the newly-elected national executives of the IYC, Ebilade Ekerefe, thanked a foremost leader from the region, Chief Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, for hosting the IYC convention in his community at Oporoza in Gbaramatu Kingdom.
The new spokesman for the council also thanked the electoral committee under Bekewei Ajuwa, a lawyer, for conducting a free, fair and transparent election, which produced Igbifa as president.
Ebilade stated that the IYC under Igbifa would not fold its arms and watch the unfortunate drama currently going on in the Niger Delta Development Commission, Presidential Amnesty Office and other key government institutions that are supposed to have positive impact on the region to continue.
He stated that in a few days from now, the IYC would consult with critical stakeholders from the region and take a firm and decisive position on the corruption drama that is going on at present in the NDDC and the Amnesty office.
He assured the Ijaw nation that the new IYC leadership would not tolerate fifth columnists allegedly conniving with external forces to short-change the collective interest of the Ijaw.
He called on everyone in the region to cooperate with the new leadership, assuring them of the IYC’s readiness to engage and mobilise Ijaw youths for the task ahead.
He thanked the aspirants, particularly the ones who didn’t make the exco, to see it as the hand of God and join hands with them in righting the wrongs in Ijaw ethnic nationality.
He promised that the leadership would work with everybody from the region, including the political elite, to set a strategic agenda in the areas of security, environment, politics, infrastructure, youth and empowerment.
He called on the international oil companies operating in the region to be ready for a robust engagement, saying that it would not be business as usual.