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PUNCH reported that the Ijaw Youth Council(IYC) has described claims by Alhaji Usman Bugaje that the oil in the Niger Delta belongs to the North as a sick joke.
A statement issued by the IYC said, "We wish to state that Dr. Usman Bugaje’s statement is reckless, provocative, baseless, misleading and displays the highest level of ignorance.
"It is disappointing that such a statement could come from a member of the Northern elite such as Bugaje. To the IYC, such a misleading statement coming from him brings to the fore the reason behind most of the barbaric acts coming from that part of the country.
"Contrary to Bugaje’s assertion, the IYC wish to state that there is no United Nations Law which states that the maritime boundary of a country is determined by the land mass of the country. For the records, there is nowhere in Articles 3, 5, 57 and 76 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea where it is stated that the land mass of a coastal state determines its mileage into the sea or its maritime boundary. The United Nations Law of the Sea, which is the primary law which determines the maritime boundary of coastal states, defines the Exclusive Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf to be up to 200 nautical lines measured from its baseline, which is the low water mark along the coast.
"Hence, the land mass of a country is not a consideration in determining its maritime boundary.
The IYC urged Northern leaders, particularly elites such as Bugaje, to bury their frivolous claim to the Niger Delta oil and think of creative means of harnessing the resources found in the North.
The group further reiterated that the Niger Delta oil does not belong to the North and the Nigerian state. The IYC is capable and ever ready and willing to defend, protect and assert the Niger Delta communities and people’s ownership of its oil and gas resources, both onshore and offshore.
A statement issued by the IYC said, "We wish to state that Dr. Usman Bugaje’s statement is reckless, provocative, baseless, misleading and displays the highest level of ignorance.
"It is disappointing that such a statement could come from a member of the Northern elite such as Bugaje. To the IYC, such a misleading statement coming from him brings to the fore the reason behind most of the barbaric acts coming from that part of the country.
"Contrary to Bugaje’s assertion, the IYC wish to state that there is no United Nations Law which states that the maritime boundary of a country is determined by the land mass of the country. For the records, there is nowhere in Articles 3, 5, 57 and 76 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea where it is stated that the land mass of a coastal state determines its mileage into the sea or its maritime boundary. The United Nations Law of the Sea, which is the primary law which determines the maritime boundary of coastal states, defines the Exclusive Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf to be up to 200 nautical lines measured from its baseline, which is the low water mark along the coast.
"Hence, the land mass of a country is not a consideration in determining its maritime boundary.
The IYC urged Northern leaders, particularly elites such as Bugaje, to bury their frivolous claim to the Niger Delta oil and think of creative means of harnessing the resources found in the North.
The group further reiterated that the Niger Delta oil does not belong to the North and the Nigerian state. The IYC is capable and ever ready and willing to defend, protect and assert the Niger Delta communities and people’s ownership of its oil and gas resources, both onshore and offshore.
