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  • Ijaw youths condemn attacks on Ogun, Lagos communities

    Ijaw youths yesterday condemned armed invasion of Ogun and Lagos communities where innocent residents were killed.

    They described the incidents as criminal and barbaric.

    The youths, under the auspices of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) worldwide, disassociated the Ijaw nation and their groups from the attacks.

    In a statement by its spokesman Eric Omare, IYC condemned the incidents, irrespective of who was involved. The group insisted that the attackers were not Ijaw indigenes.

    The statement said: “We state clearly that the persons carrying out these criminal attacks are not Ijaw and it is absolutely wrong for the media to refer to them as Ijaw militants.

    “The sensational headlines and impression being created is that Ijaw persons or groups were carrying out organised attacks and killing people in some Lagos and Ogun communities.

    “The Ijaw, who are indigenous to and living in the Southwest of Nigeria, are peaceful and law-abiding people and can never be involved in attacking communities and killing people.

    “The Ijaw also have not, at any time, met and agreed to attack communities and kill people in Lagos and Ogun states.

    “We call on the media to accurately report events to avoid unnecessary inter- crisis between ethnic groups whose people were killed and the Ijaw indigenous to and living in Southwest.

    “Any inter-ethnic crisis between Yoruba and Ijaw ethnic groups is not in the interest of Nigeria; the media must guide against it. We also call on security agencies to bring the perpetrators of the Lagos and Ogun killings to justice to serve as deterrent to orders.”

  • Rumbling in Ijaw Youth Council as Fed Govt searches for peace in Niger Delta

    There is no doubt that the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Worldwide, the umbrella body of all Ijaw youths in the world, has been rebranded and refocused under the leadership of its current President, Mr. Udengs Eradiri.

    Eradiri, an engineer, and the IYC Spokesman, Eric Omare, a lawyer, have increased the global appeal for the council; constantly articulated the common position of the Ijaw nationality on matters of national importance and preached non-violence as the sole approach in Ijaw agitation for true federalism and self-determination.

    Despite being the most vocal Ijaw group following the crisis rocking its parent body, the Ijaw National Congress (INC), the IYC appears to be struggling to maintain its unity of purpose. Discordant tunes are gradually emanating from within the Ijaw youth family.

    Trouble started when suddenly a document started circulating on the social media that Eradiri and its Spokesman, Mr. Eric Omare had been suspended. The document was signed by some aggrieved executive members of the council.

    They formulated some issues against Eradiri and Omare. They accused them of conducting themselves in a manner capable of causing disaffection among members of the council. They also accused them of misappropriation as well as forming and encouraging the formations of factions.

    Persons who reportedly signed the documents are the National Secretary-General, Bristol-Alagbariye Emmanuel; Director of Mobilisation, Wisdom Ikuli; Legal Adviser, Ekine Egberekro; Assistant Secretary, Deinkoro George; National Women Leader, Felicia Ngeri and Financial Sercretary, Kemepado Alfred.

    Immediately, the circulation of the document was brought to his notice, Deinkoro, who is the Assistant Secretary of the council, denied being part of the signatories. In fact, in a press statement, Deinkoro insisted that he never signed such document and never attended any of the meetings where such decision was taken against Eradiri and Omare.

    He lamented that his signature was forged and called on the Ijaw nation and the general public to disregard the document. Deinkoro further said he had briefed his legal team to take necessary steps against Ikuli and others who were behind the document.

    But others stuck to their gun. They sent the document to the IYC Mobile Parliament (IMP), which is saddled with the responsibility of sanctioning erring members of the council.

    But the parliament quickly rejected the document and declared it null and void. The parliament insisted that the document was lacking in merit and substance and scolded the originators for disrespecting and disregarding the procedures for such actions stipulated in the constitution of IYC.

    The Parliament in a resolution reached at the end of its sitting which took place at Usoku Town in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State ruled that Eradiri remained the President and Omare, the Spokesman of IYC. The resolution was signed by the Speaker of the IMP, Mkpon Ijonama and Clerk of the Parliament, Mr. Sunny Ogori.

    The IYC through a statement signed by Omare also reacted to the development. Omare condemned the activities of persons sowing seeds of discord in the council and dismissed the suspension document. He described those behind it as moles.

    Omare said IYC is a well-structured organization with a constitution which defines the power of its officers and its organs. According to him the power to suspend or remove officers of the council is the function of the IYC Mobile parliament by Article 10 (B) and (C) of the IYC Constitution after a rigorous investigation procedure.

    He said: “On Saturday the 28th of May, 2016, the IYC parliament with power to suspend or remove officers of council rejected the purported suspension and cautioned the National Secretary, Mr. Bristol Emmanuel.

    “The said letter was fraudulently prepared by only the National Secretary, Mobilization Officer and National Legal Adviser, Mr. Bristol-Alagbariya Emmanuel, Ekine Egbelekro and Wisdom Ikuli respectively with the signature of the Assistant Secretary, Mr. George Deinkoru forged. There is a case of forgery against them already before the appropriate authorities.

    “The said officers are moles in the IYC and the Ijaw Nation who are acting the script of external forces who are not comfortable with the hard and principled stand of the President of IYC, Udengs Eradiri and the Spokesman, Eric Omare in defending and protecting the Ijaw interest.

    “These two officers who the IYC constitution empowers to speak on behalf of the Council have consistently defended the Ijaw interest in the face of threat to their lives and intimidation.

    “The sponsors of these moles have decided to resort to this approach to polarize the IYC and Ijaw nation in the light of the prevailing situation in the Niger Delta region because they have failed to compromise the President and Spokesman of IYC despite several attempts”.

    But the reason behind the sudden efforts to polarise the IYC was traced to the plans by the Federal Government to find permanent solutions to the activities of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) in the region.

    Some persons in the Presidency were said to be desirous of engaging the Eradiri-led IYC to persuade the NDA to embrace dialogue and stop the ongoing destruction of pipelines and other oil installations in the region. There was a general belief that the NDA which had restricted its nefarious activities to Delta and Bayelsa states was dominated by disgruntled Ijaw youths.

    Following its closeness to the Ijaw youths, the leadership of the IYC was to be provided with logistics to move into the creeks and prevail on the avengers to surrender their weapons. But some powerful politicians from the region were against engaging the IYC leadership accusing Eradiri and most members of his council of being supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Persons against the development were said to have mounted serious opposition against Eradiri causing the division of the national executive committee of the council into political lines.

    Eradiri confirmed the development to the Niger Delta Report and urged President Buhari to be wary of some Niger Delta leaders around him.

    He admitted attending a security meeting where the issues were discussed adding that he told the conveners of the meeting the hard truth.

    He said: “A meeting I attended, I made it clear to security agencies that Niger Deltans who are around the President are the problem of President Buhari and that the President should be wary about clowns around him.

    “Didn’t you see? They were in a meeting talking about money spent for the avengers, but the following day, they blew up installations. The same way they deceived Goodluck Jonathan that they were going to negotiate with $40million but were eating fat in the process.

    “These same hawks are around President Buhari. If he wants to engage, he must reach out to stakeholders. I also told security agencies that these persons are not representing the Niger Delta.

    “You are talking to somebody who claims he is representing the region and they are blowing. Is it not an embarrassment to government? They are not happy that the truth is said because they have been deceiving the President all this while”.

    Eradiri further insisted that the IYC remained an apolitical organisation with commitment to protect and defend the Ijaw national interests.

    He said: “The IYC is an apolitical organisation but individuals have party affiliations. I have tried as much as possible to maintain an apolitical front and not allow party issues creep into the IYC.

    “But certain individuals don’t understand the positions they hold and may want to use their party to destabilise what the Ijaw nation is doing.

    “The IYC represents the Ijaw nation. When you come to the IYC you drop your political toga and deal with the issues that concern the Ijaw nation. The some political manipulations but we will do everything possible to insulate this organisation”.

    Despite all the clarifications, the anti-Eradiri group has refused to back down. Instead the went ahead, to announce the replacement of Eradiri and Omare.

    Irked by the moves to polarize the IYC, the council’s parliament, again, sat and resolved that it would no longer sit back and watch few disgruntled elements damage the reputation of the youth body.

    The parliament, the highest law-making organ of the body, also for the umpteenth rime clarified that Mr.Eradiri and Omare remained the President and Spokesman of IYC respectively.

    Passing a vote of confidence in Eradiri and Omare, it said anybody who has petitions and grudges against the duo should follow a due process of lodging their complaints in accordance with the law establishing the IYC.

    The Speaker of IYC Parliament, Mr. Mkpon Ijonama, said reports that Eardiri and Omare had been suspended were the handiwork of few misled members of the IYC executives.

    Ijonama,who was flanked by the Deputy Speaker and other principal members of the IYC Parliament said the persons bandying the suspension document failed to follow the procedures contained in Article 10 of the constitution.

    He said: “We have a procedure as an entity and if you go to Article 10  of the constitution of Ijaw Youth Council, it spelt boldly and clearly a procedure in which one can be suspended or removed from the council. Non of the procedures were met before the so-called suspension on social media”.

    He cautioned persons planning to sow a seed of discord in the council saying the Ijaw Nation would not tolerate distractions in its trying time. Ijonama alleged that some strangers were trying to use willing tools within the Ijaw land to cause division in IYC.

    Describing the IYC as the most vocal voice of the Ijaw, he said the Parliament was ready to invoke the relevant section of the IYC Article to deal with saboteurs within the ranks of the Ijaw youths.

    “We are facing a lot of challenges in our communities, the state and the Federal Government. I think there are ghost hands that are trying to cause division Ijaw Youth Council. We don’t have any faction.

    “Udengs Omare remains the President of Ijaw Youth Council. Eric Omare remains our spokesman. We are warning these persons to retrace their steps or we will invoke the necessary provision of our constitution to deal with them”, he said.

     

  • 50 years after, Ijaw reflects on gains, challenges of Boro’s vision

    50 years after, Ijaw reflects on gains, challenges of Boro’s vision

    Every year, Ijaw, the fourth most populous ethnic group in Nigeria, celebrates the late Isaac Adaka Boro. Boro is no doubt the foundation of the Niger Delta struggle. He fought and laid his life for a better and more prosperous Niger Delta and for a pride of place for the Ijaw in the Nigerian project. He is fondly referred to as the icon, hero and martyr of resource control, true federalism and self-determinism.

    This year, the Golden Jubilee of the celebration was held. Though it was held in low key, it was a period for the Ijaw and the Niger Delta to count their blessings and losses. Among all the programmes scheduled for the celebration, the symposium was significant as it gave Ijaw leaders and youths an opportunity to reflect on the real essence of Boro’s movement.

    A Yenagoa-based lawyer, politician and pioneer Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State, Mr. Jackson Ebi Suokiri, stole the show in his keynote address at the symposium.

    Suokiri told the people of the Niger Delta that the 50th anniversary was a period to remember the ideals of Boro and explore the possibility of expanding the frontiers of Boro’s aspiration to make the contemporary Niger Delta region and by extension, the entire Nigeria a better place for all.

    He said Boro represented a strong evidence to support the argument that it takes only men of extra-ordinary courage, boldness, and exceptional determination to embark on a revolution to liberate a people from oppression, enslavement and exploitation without recourse to consequences that could befall them and their families.

    He said Boro, though a community leader, saw ahead of his contemporaries and quickly identified that the region was geographically complex and needed development. He said Boro was disturbed by lack of indigenous participation in the exploitation of resources; wanton political and social discrimination against the people of the region and the total absence of economic justice.

    Suokiri said the late freedom fighter shed tears over absence of schools, non-availability of road networks,lack of hospitals and health facilities and abysmal neglect of the region despite massive exploitation of its resources.

    But the keynote speaker, who is now a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) said the Twelve Day Revolution of Boro has yielded some positive political results. He said the Niger Delta struggle had enabled the Ijaw to make history as the first ethnic minority to produce the President of Nigeria in the person of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    He said it was the foundation of Boroism that led to the creation of Rivers State in 1967 and Bayelsa State in 1996 adding that the Ijaws now occupy 21 local government areas in Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, Ondo and Edo states.

    He said such improved political institutions had increased the political participation of Ijaw in the country adding that government had been brought closer to the people of the Niger Delta region.

    He said: “Many educational institution now exist in Ijaw land and many sons and daughters of the Ijaw nation are now well-enlightened to fight for their rights. We can see this from the increased agitation for resource control by our youthful leaders.

    “Besides, health facilities have improved with the lifespan of our people elongated. Social amenities and other infrastructures are now at our doorsteps enabling our people to enjoy better lifestyles. So, many of our people are gainfully employed, thus drastically improving the living standard of our people”.

    Suokiri, whose speech was punctuated by applauses, noted that through the ideals of Boro, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Niger Delta Ministry had been created with a mandate to develop the region. He said youths are being trained under the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).

    He said: “Socially, we now have the East-West road that traverses the Niger Delta. Schools including universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, school of basic studies and hospitals are now built in our communities. Most of our communities are now connected to electricity with pipe-borne water.”

    The King of Opokuma, HRM, Okpoitari Diangoli, commended the Kaiama community for hosting the Boro festival describing it as a philosophy encapsulating the struggle for self-determination in Ijaw land.

    Also, the traditional ruler of Kaiama community, HRH J.O. Burutolu, who was the Royal Father of the day asked youths to embrace peace saying that Boro was never a violent man.

  • Appeal to Ijaw youths

    Niger Delta Avengers, citing the unfair allocation of oil blocks as part of their major grievances blew up Nembe Brass to Bonny trunk line belonging to Agip and Shell about last Saturday. This is the latest in the economic war that has reduced Nigeria oil production from 2.5million to 1.5million barrels per day. Delta State Information Commissioner, Jonathan Obuebite said ‘the activities of the group were adversely affecting Ijaw people whose only source of livelihood is the environment’. The Ijaw boys are shooting themselves in the leg. The communities affected will suffer the effect of pollution for the next few years. Investors are already moving to safer environments like Cross River and Akwa Ibom at a critical period when the area needs to get ready for the challenges of post oil period which globalised economy searching for renewable energy sets at 2030. Already Warri has lost its shine with the entertainment industry taking the greatest hit. In 14 years, oil as source of energy consumption will be near zero.

    The Ijaw unfortunately are Ijaw’s worst enemies. They have on account of a culture of entitlement been unable to compete with other ethnic groups such as Ikwere, a minority Igbo ethnic group that has dominated the politics of Rivers State producing the likes of Peter Odili, Rotimi Amaechi and Nyesom Wike. And while the Kalabaris showcase their Tam David-West, the Tamunos, Douglases, the Ijaw advertise the likes of Asari Dokubo who vacant-mindedly and without a sense of history denies the collective contribution of the rest of the federation to the liberation of Ijaw during the civil war and ex-militant, Government Ekpemupolo alias ‘Tompolo” who according to Chief Edwin Clark, lacks enough education to secure government job.

    But the fault is not in neither in Dokubo or Ekpemupolo’s stars but in the conspiracy of their leaders who in the past traded in their name in order to satisfy their greed. Most of the Ijaw leaders were in alliance with the north when Awolowo and his AG embarked on free education in the old Western Region. They were in politics in the Second Republic when Ambrose Alli of the old Bendel, Olabisi Onabanjo of Ogun State, Michael Ajasin of old Ondo and Lateef Jakande of Lagos established public universities to accommodate products of their free primary and secondary school programmes. But the Ijaw political elite and traditional rulers described by Saro Wiwa as ‘vultures’ denied their youth good education so that no one questions them as they collude with multinational oil companies to feed on the blood of the poor.

    What ill-educated Ijaw youths are now doing is nothing but a misdirected aggression. Their enemies are not Hausa-Fulani owners of oil bocks but their corrupt leaders and politicians who instead of confronting their past recently claim ‘Buhari’s war against corruption will lead to anarchy’. Ijaw leaders were part of past governments including that of Abacha regime alleged to have traded oil blocks to buy legitimacy. President Jonathan was Vice President for two years and President for six years. He had an opportunity to correct the mistakes of the past. But like many other Ijaw leaders, he merely empowered ill-educated Ijaw youths useful only for proxy war.

    Before him was Alfred Papapreye Diete-Spiff, a Naval Lieutenant Commander  who in 1967 at 25 years of age was appointed the first military Governor of Rivers State. His greatest legacy was the shaving of the head of Nigerian Observer newspaper’s reporter who had published a story about an impending teachers strike in Rivers on Spiff’s birthday. When Murtala Mohammed toppled Gowon government in 1975, Diete-Spiff who could not pay teachers in Rivers was cruising in the high seas in his private ship named ‘OginaBereton’ later seized by Murtala Mohammed who also allegedly stripped him of his rank. Spiff was later detailed to forfeit a total of 18 properties located in the Government Reserved Area, Trans-Amadi, Borikiri layout, Recreation Layout and Ogbunabali, all in Port Harcourt. He is today the Amanyanabo of Twon Brass in Bayeslsa State, a throne he ascended in 1996. When Umaru Dikko during the Oputa Truth Commission called attention to marginalization of Ijaws by their leaders,  Spiff before staging a walk out with Rivers delegates insisted no one would dictate to them on how to spend their own money.

    Melford Okilo who later became governor and senator served as Minister for Commerce and Tourism during Sani Abacha regime when most of the controversial oil blocks were allocated.

    Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, ‘Governor General’ of the Ijaw was said to be the mastermind of the then rampaging Niger Delta militants. His involvement in corruption and money laundering was exposed by governments of Britain, United States, South Africa, Bahamas and Seychelles as well as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Bank under the Stolen Assets Recovery Initiative’. They revealed his portfolio of foreign assets which included accounts with five banks in the UK and further accounts with banks in Cyprus, Denmark and the United States; four London properties acquired for a total of £4.8m; a Cape Town harbour penthouse acquired for almost £1m, about £1m in cash stored in one of his London properties. When Britain’s Metropolitan police charged him to court, he jumped bail and escaped to Nigeria. He was later convicted in Nigeria but granted amnesty by President Jonathan, another Ijaw leader.

    Rivers State under Peter Odili (1999-2007) saw a surge in attacks on the oil industry by militants demanding greater benefits, kidnappings by ransom seekers, political violence and deadly robberies by gangs armed with AK-47 rifles.  EFCC in a 2007 report accused his government of ‘fraud, conspiracy, conversion of public funds, foreign exchange malpractice, money laundering, stealing and abuse of oath of office’. Human Rights Watch also issued a report detailing pervasive patterns of corruption and mismanagement at the state and local levels under Odili’s administration. In March 2007, Justice Ibrahim Buba gave “a perpetual injunction restraining the EFCC from arresting, detaining and arraigning Odili on the basis of his tenure as governor based on the purported investigation”. Odili was alleged to be the brain behind the split in Asari Dokubo-led IYC which led to the formation of MEND headed by Ateke Tom, Dokubo’s deputy in order to settle scores with Chief Edwin Clark.

    James Ibori was alleged to have spent Delta State money to fund Yar’Adua’s presidential election. On December 17, 2009, a Federal High Court sitting in Asaba, Delta State discharged and acquitted Ibori of all 170 charges of corruption brought against him by EFCC. Ibori was later found guilty of 10 counts of money laundering and conspiracy to defraud at Southwark Crown Court, London and on April 17, 2012, sentenced to 13 years. Some of his properties confiscated include a house in Hampstead, north London, a property in Shaftesbury, Dorset, and a mansion in Sandston, near Johannesburg, South Africa.

    Edwin Clark, 86, has been part of government since he was about 32. Kaita recently reminded him during one of his tirades against the north that he has always been a northern ally.  Clark shortly after a society wedding at age of 85 finally established Edwin Clark University in his village where students will pay about N400,000 per session. His response to critics of official looting by custodians of Niger Delta commonwealth was ‘‘who are they to tell us how we spend our money’?

    Ijaw youths, behold thy leaders.

  • Ijaw communities in Delta decry military operation

    Residents of Ijaw communities in Warri Southwest Local Government Area of Delta State have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to restrain the soldiers on security operation in the areas from victimising the people.

    Our reporter received several messages from some of the communities, indicating that men of the Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Pulo Shield, currently on an operation in some communities in Gbaramatu Kingdom, especially Oporoza, that the military had been tormenting the residents.

    In a telephone chat yesterday in Warri, the Chairman of Kokodiagbene community, Comrade Sheriff Mulade, said the military had built blockades against the residents, causing fear of food shortage.

    The community leader noted that although the people welcomed the military on the waterways to curb militants and other hoodlums, the military operations in the communities were allegedly stretching the people’s confidence and threatening their peace and freedom.

    According to him, passenger boats have been impounded and thoroughly searched.

    Mulade said: “As we are talking, no boat is coming in or going out. They have barred the people of Oporoza from fishing. The people cannot go out to get anything; they are intimidating the villagers, that they must produce members of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) and Chief Government Ekpemupolo (aka Tompolo).

    “Also, students, children and women are in the forest. There is a deliberate blockage of the waterways; food shortage is on the increase. The military’s approach is not the best option; dialogue is the way to go.

    “The communities are deserted as more troops have been deployed to Oporoza and the surrounding hamlets, creating fears in the people.

    “We welcome the military because of the activities of NDA and pirates. We believe the military will stem the tide of the activities, but the humiliation and intimidation of innocent residents is unacceptable and unconstitutional.”

    He added: “NDA members do not reside in Gbaramatu. They have adopted guerilla tactics to perpetrate their evil acts. The people are living in abject poverty and the Nigerian state should not worsen the people’s hardship. The ecosystem is destroyed by the bombing. But, with the way the military is going, it will be difficult for the people to corporate with them. The people cannot be tortured and be expected to give information. It is not possible.”

  • Ijaw youths seek legalisation of ‘bush’ refineries

    Ijaw youths seek legalisation of ‘bush’ refineries

    IJaw youths want ‘bush’ refineries legalised. The youths represented by the President of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide, Mr. Udengs Eradiri, spoke at the Glasgow Caledonia University on the invitation of the Africa Future Matters (AFM).

    They also desire lasting solutions to the myriads of economic and political issues bedeviling the Niger Delta.

    Eradiri used the Glasgow opportunity, to tell the world the major headaches of the Niger Delta, a region that almost single-handedly finances the Nigerian economy. In fact, Eradiri stood tall among intellectual experts and reputable scholars who listened to him as he delivered the keynote address that touched all aspects of the Niger Delta issues.

    Among other issues, his address dwelt more on the environmental degradation of the region arising from activities of persons who try to crudely refine crude oil for commercial motives.

    He told the world that criminalizing ownership of what he described as bush or local refineries was counterproductive. To harness the benefits of ingenuity, intellectual capacity and skill associated with the establishment and ownership of such ventures, Eradiri asked Nigeria to decriminalize bush refineries.

    He said the Federal Government’s approach of treating persons linked to such refineries as criminals has exacerbated the problems posed by bush refineries such as ecological degradation, loss of revenue, incessant vandalism of oil infrastructure, health hazards and emergence of armed gangs.

    “Government must decriminalize the act of crude refining techniques and local oil refining. This will help to increase the current abysmal refining capacity in the country and permanently solve the problems of scarcity of refined crude oil products currently wrecking havoc in the country’s economy.

    “Besides, decriminalizing the practice will help to create jobs for the youths and finally put paid to the problems of restiveness and militancy in the region. It will also stop all forms of vandalism thereby increasing the revenue of the government”, he argued.

    To decriminalize the practice, he said the government must establish a legal framework to regulate the operations of bush refineries. He said the regulation must include the framework for sourcing crude, quality control and ecological maintenance.

    He said: “Government should set up local refiners into cooperatives in order to control their activities. By so doing, the government will be in control of the registered community cooperatives which must ensure that their activities are within the regulated practice”.

    Eradiri argued that currently most of the refined petroleum products sold in filling stations across the country are sourced from bush refineries. He said such products even find their ways to the Aso Rock Villa and are unknowingly used by the Presidency.

    “I challenge the Presidency to carry out a forensic examination of refined petroleum products used in the Aso Rock Villa to ascertain my claims. There is no gainsaying that bush refiners have always come to our rescue especially in time of scarcity and if we legalize the practice it will not just create jobs, it will bring down the prices of petroleum products in the country”, he said.

    He added: “The government should study the ingenuity of local technology involved in the process of bush refineries and improve upon it. This will help in our drive to use local technologies in solving our problems.

    “We insist that legalizing bush refineries will safeguard the environment, increase revenue to government, create jobs, reduce crime and motivate communities to take ownership of oil infrastructure and protect it from vandalism”.

    Besides local refineries, another issue that stole the attention of the Ijaw Leader is the clean-up of environment negatively impacted by oil exploration and exploitation. Eradiri welcomed the move by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to clean Ogoniland.

    But he said: “Ogoni clean-up must be done by a globally known companies in accordance with international standard. It should act as a catalyst to the entire Niger Delta clean-up because cleaning Ogoni without cleaning other parts of the Niger Delta would be an exercise in futility.

    “We insist that the cleaning must not be politicized. We have it on good authority that many unknown companies are lobbying to get the contracts for political considerations. Government should not allow such persons to derail its genuine intentions to clean-up the Niger Delta region”.

    Eradiri further drew global attention on some policies and strategies that had stifled the development of the region. He said the marginalisation and exclusion of the people from the ownership of assets and lack of access to social amenities defined poverty in the region.

    He said: “It is only if and when development strategies address these factors holistically that the possibility of alleviating poverty and reducing vulnerability exists. There should be a people-centred development agenda founded in the region’s natural and human capital.

    “Nigeria needs to change the distribution of revenue in order to reverse poverty in the Niger Delta, a region that has seen few gains from the nation’s 50 years of oil production.

    “The people of the oil-bearing communities should no longer experience the gross social infrastructural neglect, poverty, ecological catastrophes and other deprivations they face deity their contributions to the development of Nigeria”.

  • Scores displaced as tension escalates in Ijaw, Urhobo clash

    Scores displaced as tension escalates in Ijaw, Urhobo clash

    Scores of residents in Aladja and Ogbe-Ijoh communities in Udu and Warri Southwest Local Governments of Delta State have been displaced following last week’s clashes between the Urhobo and Ijaw.

    It was gathered that although normalcy seemed to have returned, many deserted the areas because of fear of reprisals.

    There were claims of looting and vandalism.

    Ogbe-Ijoh, headquarters of Warri Southwest, was attacked last week by irate youths from Aladja.

    They allegedly cut power supply to the town by felling three high tension poles. Traffic in and out of the town remained at its lowest ebb.

    A source, who spoke in confidence for security reasons, said: “Most of the people who left are yet to return; people want to be assured that their lives and property are safe before coming back home.

    “We still live in fear because the only road leading to Ogbe-Ijoh passes through Aladja. Although the road has not been opened, people are scared of what may befall them. So, what we do is to move in groups.”

    Despite the heavy military presence in both communities, it was gathered that homes of Ijaw indigenes in Aladja and neighbouring Urhobo towns were being plundered by suspected hoodlums.

    The First Vice President of Aladja, Pastor Kingsley Abala, told our reporter on phone that the violence followed the perceived inaction of the state government on the boundary dispute.

    He said: “They (the state government) should demarcate the boundary.”

    Abala called for continued military presence, adding: “The military should not leave us (warring communities) alone now. It is their presence that has ensured peace.”

    Also, it was gathered at Aladja that the fear of reprisal attacks still pervade the Urhobo neighbourhoods, especially near Ogbe-Ijoh.

    Many believed the state government is not doing enough to resolve these communal clashes.

    “There is no need to start setting up any committee; a commission of enquiry set up long ago has turned in its report. What is left now is for the implementation of the White Paper, which emanated from that committee.

    “The document recommended the creation of a green (buffer) zone. Why can’t the state government expedite action on this, instead of waiting for the next round of killing, to begin another round of motion without movement?” a source conceded.

  • Many feared dead as Ijaw, Urhobo clash in Delta

    Many residents of Aladja, in Udu Local Government Area, and Ogbe-Ijoh, in Warri Southwest Local Government Area, both in Delta State, were feared dead yesterday in a renewed clash.

    Several others were injured and property worth million of Naira were destroyed.

    There has been an age-long communal rivalry between residents of Aladja and their Ogbe-Ijoh counterparts.

    It was gathered that youths from Ogbe-Ijoh invaded the community’s Divisional Police Station, carting away arms and ammunition.

    Aladja, an Urhobo community, and Ogbe-Ijoh, an Ijaw community, have been engaged in protracted civil strife over land ownership and access to road.

    Although security agents comprising the Army and the police have taken over the communities to stem hostilities, it was gathered that residents of both communities abandoned their homes because of the fears that the confrontation might worsen.

    At the time of filing this report last night, sources said several persons had been injured while two homes – one each in Aladja and Ogbe-Ijoh – had been razed.

    A car inside the Ogbe-Ijoh property was damaged.

    It was also gathered that yesterday’s clash started in the morning when some Aladja youths blocked the only access road from their town to Ogbe-Ijoh, leading to a free-for-all.

    Giving the account of the incident, the Coordinator of the Ogbe-Ijoh Peace Movement, Friday Deinghan, said although the crisis started early, it was curtailed through the swift intervention of the Army.

    Deinghan said: “One man, identified as Freedom from Ogbe-Ijoh, is lying critically injured as a result of the clash. But for the quick intervention of the Army, there would have been a total breakdown of law and order in the area.

    “The area under contention has been declared a buffer zone, but some persons carried blocks and sand to erect structures there. The evidence is there. This morning (yesterday), Aladja residents started restricting people from passing to Ogbe-Ijoh; they beat up our people. Before we knew it, they had started advancing to Ogbe-Ijoh, and there were some little skirmishes.”

    But a community leader in Aladja, who spoke in confidence, said: “Ogbe-Ijoh drew first blood. Their youths held and molested Ajadja women who wenre farming in the bush. In reprisal, our youths restricted their passage through Aladja to their community.

    “There has been confusion since then. We can’t give a clear report of casualties now.”

    Udu Local Government Area Chairman Solomon Kpoma said he was told that even when security forces demarcated both communities, some Ogbe-Ijoh residents still used the waterway to attack Aladja.

    Kpoma said: “The police and the Army formed a barricade to cordon off Ogbe-Ijoh and Aladja and prevent the two sides from attacking each other. But somehow Ogbe-Ijoh residents, from the report I got, came through the river to attack. That was the report this morning.

    “When Ogbe-Ijoh residents were gearing up for this fight, they attacked the Ogbe-Ijoh Police Station, which is very close to Aladja, and carted away their arms and ammunition. With that, the police became helpless. That was when they called for reinforcement.”

    A truce, involving the chairmen of Udu Local Government Area, for Aladja; his Warri Southwest counterpart, for Ogbe-Ijoh, and 10 representatives of both communities, was being convened last night by the Warri Area Commander of the police, Mohammed M’uazu, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP).

  • Scores wounded as Ijaw, Urhobo clash in Delta

    At least three persons were fatally wounded and scores still missing after an early morning clash between the Urhobo

    people of Aladja and Ijaw of Ogbe-Ijoh communities in Udu and Warri Southwest local government areas of Delta state, on Thursday.

    Although what caused Thursday’s clash was not immediately known at the time of this report, findings revealed that the two communities have been involved in incessant clashes for decades.

    Both communities are locked in a boundary dispute that predates the Ijaw /Itsekiri war that lasted from 1997 to 2004.

    An indigene of Ogbe-Ijoh, Mr Richard Koremene told our reporter on telephone that three of his kinsmen had been butchered.

    “Some Ogbe-Ijoh persons have been injured and tension is very high now and there is concern that the hostility might escalate.”

  • Ijaw group: no to military

    Ijaw group: no to military

    The Ijaw Professionals Association (IPA) has criticised the Federal Government  for  deploying  the military for Saturday’s rerun elections in Rivers State.

    In a statement by its Secretary-General, Mr Efiye Bribena, the group said: “The growing trend of deploying soldiers in large number to Rivers State is worrisome especially at a time when citizens are expected to perform their civic responsibility.”

    It added that “elections are civic matters and the police are well prepared to ensure adequate security of lives and property”.

    The group maintained that military deployment could provoke the people and heighten the restiveness in the Niger Delta.

    “We find it difficult why troops have not been deployed to Agatu, Benue State, where innocent citizens are being slaughtered by armed Fulani herdsmen but troops are massively deployed in Delta state to intimidate and destroy the communities and the psych of the people. The people of the Niger Delta are becoming restive and should not be further provoked to anger,” it said.