THE Ijaw National Congress (INC) has laid down conditions for peace and demanded that the impoverished Niger Delta should produce the next president in 2007.
�The Ijaw can no longer be mere spectators but would want to be effective participants in the Nigerian national project, including the issue of producing the next president of Nigeria,� it said in a statement. The INC said denial of the Ijaw their rights has forced their youths to engage in armed struggle, including the kidnapping of oil workers and vandalisation of oil installations.
�Without constructive dialogue to address the decades of neglect and deprivation, our youths would not stop at anything but radical and violent expression of our collective grievances and plight,� the statement said.
The INC demanded more political and economic participation, creation of two new states for the Ijaw, employment for its youths, and repair of its damaged environment and control of oil resources.
They also demanded the release of the immediate past governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, and Mujahideen Asari Dokuba being tried for felony and corruption, as well as the immediate demilitarisation of the region.
President Olusegun Obasanjo is due to chair a committee meeting tomorrow to mull development projects designed to improve the lives of residents of the Niger Delta.
Since January this year, militant groups claiming to represent the interests of the Ijaw have stepped up their attacks on the Niger Delta�s oil industry.
Militants have killed at least 24 members of the security forces, kidnapped and released 13 western hostages and blown up several pipelines, forcing firms to cut Nigeria�s 2.6 million barrel-per-day exports by more than a fifth.