MEND Dumps IYC Over Alleged Hijack By Politicians

Edith CHUKU

Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, MEND, Rivers State chapter, has discontinued its affiliation with the Ijaw Youth Council.

MEND’s decision to withdraw from the Ijaw Youth Council was made known to TNN, today, in a release jointly signed by the chairman, Prince Amaibi Hornsby and the vice chairman, Edeye Granville.

According to the release, “This is to notify the general public that Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) Rivers State Chapter has pulled out of the Ijaw Youth Council from this day, the 25th of August, 2020.

“The decision to discontinue affiliation with the Ijaw Youth Council especially with the present crop of National Executive is predicated on the gross irregularities of vote buying, monetization and outright hijack of the struggle platform by politicians and Governments in power at the just concluded National Elections of the Ijaw Youth Council on the 18-19th July, 2020 at Oporoza in the Gbaranmatu Kingdom of Delta State.

“The Ijaw Youth Council is a product of the various organizations of the struggle platform for the socio economic and political emancipation of the Ijaw Nation as a sub national group within the so called Nigerian State, of which MEND had been one of the constituent units.

“From the foregoing, following from an extraordinary meeting of Congress and due consultations with stakeholders and leaders in the struggle, it is obvious that the Ijaw Youth Council has become too weak to represent the Ijaw Nation to tackle and confront the problems that have been plaguing us as a people nor project the issues, challenges and the demands of the Ijaw People in any fora, hence the pull out.

“This remains the only option to save and strengthen the ideals of the struggle. MEND as a very credible organization will go to the drawing board to come up with the new way to go.”