Ijaw And Itsekiri Youths Inaugurate Sensitization C’ttee As FG Sets To Dredge Escravos River

Ahead of the commencement of dredging of Escravos to Warri River by the Federal Government, Ijaw and Itsekiri youths have set up a joint sensitization committee to carry out enlightenment campaign to communities that would be affected by the project.

The Committee was set up at a joint town hall meeting held by Ijaw and Itsekiri youths in Warri, Delta State on Sunday May13, 2018 on measures to ensure hitch free operations by the contractor that would handle the dredging project.

The thirty member joint committee is co-chaired by Comrades Frank Akiefa and Joseph Uwawah.

Speaking at the joint Ijaw and Itsekiri youths stakeholders meeting, Presidents of the IYC and INYC: Messrs Eric Omare and Weyinmi Agbateyiniro respectively, stated that community and youth restiveness mainly accounts for the inability to carry out key developmental projects in the region by government.

Furthermore, insecurity mainly accounts for the non-usage of the eastern ports including the Warri port.

However, the youth leaders expressed the view that these acts of restiveness is because of wrong and in some case zero engagement of communities and stakeholders in the execution of projects by government and multinational companies in the Niger Delta region.

We strongly believe that if communities are constructively engaged through key and critical stakeholders; a peaceful and conducive working environment can be achieved and sustained in the region and more particularly in the execution of the Escravos to Warri dredging project.

It is in the light of the foregoing that the Ijaw and Itsekiri youths have come together to set up this joint committee to take proactive steps to sensitize communities on the need to cooperate with the contractor and government to ensure a timely and hitch free execution of the Escravos to Warri river dredging.

The committee is to go round the affected committees and hold sensitization meetings on the importance of the project with youths and other stakeholders in addition to acting as standing committee to resolve communities and company issues.