Avengers’ ceasefire: IYC urges Buhari to beware of hawks, welcomes development

The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has welcomed the decision by members of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) to halt all hostilities and embrace dialogue with the Federal Government as advocated by leaders and elders of the region.

Frank Omare, spokesperson for IYC in a statement made available to Nigerian Tribune on Sunday afternoon in Warri,  Delta State, commended the militant group for the round-table option.

“IYC has always advocated dialogue as the means to the resolution of the Niger Delta crisis.

As a result, we welcome the conditional declaration of ceasefire by the Niger Delta Avengers if it is actually from them,” the IYC megaphone stated.

He, however, called on the Federal Government to seize the ceasefire window period to address the issues affecting the region as well as show sincerity and commitment.

“We call on the federal government, especially President Buhari to take advantage of this ceasefire to aggressively dialogue with the people of the region to address the issues affecting the region.

“For the umpteenth time, we call for a bipartisan and sincere dialogue to resolve the root causes of the recurrent Niger Delta crisis.

The dialogue should be issue-based and not to solve immediate problems and massage the ego of personalities,” the Ijaw umbrella youth body warned.

The group also advised that “President Buhari must avoid listening to political hawks around him at the expense of the country’s unity and development.”
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