N65bn not enough to end crisis in Niger Delta, IYC tells FG

The Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide, IYC, has said the increase in budget for the Niger Delta Presidential Amnesty Programme, from N20bn to N65bn as contained in the 2017 budget, will not be enough to douse crisis in the region. The council’s spokesman, Eric Omare, who urged people in the region not to celebrate the increase, described the increase as exploitative as it would only enable the Federal Government meet its targeted daily output of oil from the region. He argued that attention should rather be on how much was budgeted and released to the Niger Delta Development Commission, the Niger Delta Ministry and the Federal Ministry of Works to carry out developmental projects in the oil-rich coastal areas.