The Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) on Tuesday took a swipe at Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai for warning of an impending attack on southern Kaduna by Niger Delta militants.
In a statement issued in Yenagoa by IYC spokesman Eric Omare, the group also blamed the lull in the Niger Delta dialogue process on the federal government.
The IYC stated that Mr. El-Rufai is inciting the people of Kaduna State, and by implication, the entire North, against Niger Deltans by his statement that Niger Delta militants have been hired to carry out attacks in southern Kaduna.
"This statement is reckless and highly condemnable. Mallam El-Rufai, having failed in his duty to protect the lives and properties of the people of southern Kaduna, should not use innocent Niger Deltans as scapegoats. Niger Deltans have no business going all the way to Kaduna or any part of Nigeria to attack Nigerians," Mr. Omare said in the press statement.
"We call on Nigerians and the security agencies to hold Governor El-Rufai responsible for any attack on Niger Deltans in the North as a result of his irresponsible statement.
"The Fulani herdsmen, who El-Rufai paid for killing people, are well known to the world, hence Niger Deltans should not be linked under any circumstances to the unwarranted killings going on in southern Kaduna.
"We also call the federal government to, as a matter of urgency, bring the killings in southern Kaduna to a stop and bring the perpetrators to justice, including Governor El-Rufai."
In a related development, the IYC stated that President Muhammadu Buhari's call on Niger Delta agitators to come to the negotiation table is a subterfuge to deceive Nigerians and the world to create the false impression that the federal government is ready for dialogue.
According to the IYC, the Buhari administration is the party frustrating attempts at negotiation, not the Niger Delta agitators. The group has argued that the Niger Delta leaders and stakeholders have done everything possible to start the negotiation process, but the federal government has failed to reciprocate these efforts.
The IYC therefore called on Mr. Buhari to demonstrate sincerity towards negotiating with the Niger Delta people by constituting the government negotiation team rather than simply using what the group termed "Christmas Day rhetoric."
Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai
BY SAHARA REPORTERS
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