Youths to Jonathan: we need jobs

From port-Harcourt, Rivers State capital, a call
has gone out to President Goodluck Jonathan
to address the issue of joblesssness among
youths.
The call was made by youths themselves, who
followed up with a strong case for non-
militants among them. They argued that after
ex-militants in the Niger Delta were appeased
with jobs, non-militant ones equally deserve to
be employed.
The youths made the appeal in a communiqué
they issued at the end of their 2013
International youths’ day celebration in the
Rivers capital.
In the nine-point document signed by over 16
different youth groups and associations in the
region, the youths said empowering non-
violent youths like their militant counterparts
would bring about equity, justice and fairness.
They stated that it would also encourage the
non-militant youths to continue to engage in
peaceful dialogue with the government in the
event of perceived grievances.
The youths equally appealed to the President
not to delegate the appointment of the
dissolved principal officers of the Niger Delta
Development Commission (NDDC), to the
governors, saying that it was his statutory
responsibility.
They said in the communique: “Now that the
NDDC board has been dissolved, it behoves on
Mr. President to appoint principal officers of
the commission particularly the MD/CEO, as
the provision of the Act 2000 in part iv 12(c),
stated that ‘the MD/CEO shall be appointed by
the president, Commander-in-Chief of the
Armed Forces with the approval of the Senate.”
The groups also appealed that the incoming
MD should be appointed from among the
serving staff of the commission, saying that
this would help the new boss in quickly taking
charge of the commission.
They said if the new chair were to be
appointed from outside, it would take him
some time to learn the ropes, as it were,
before any meaningful activities could begin.
They also wanted the headquarters and state
offices of the Ministry of Niger Delta to be
restructured for effective service delivery,
while the office of the Special Adviser (SA) to
the President on Niger Delta be expanded and
mandated for even distribution of social
amenities among states of the region.
The youths also called for the inclusion of the
Nigerian constitution in the primary school
curriculum to enable kids get acquainted with
the provisions of the constitution.
Some of the signatories to the document
included the National president of Change
Initiative Forum, Ambassador Genesis J.
Idikibiebuma; Chairman, National Youth
Council of Nigeria, Kingsley Adonis Pepple,
Niger Delta youths Movement , represented by
Tonye Dikibo, and Ijaw Youth Council Kingdom
Igin.