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Tag: Itsekiri

  • Itsekiri to Jonathan: perform EPZ ceremony before we discuss votes

    Itsekiri to Jonathan: perform EPZ ceremony before we discuss votes

    The Itsekiri in Delta State have urged President Goodluck Jonathan to use his proposed visit to the Olu of Warri on February 4 to perform the groundbreaking ceremony of the $16 billion Ogidigben Export Processing Zone (EPZ).

    President Jonathan has been under fire from the Itsekiri for postponing the ceremiony, followingthe alleged threat by the Ijaw in Gbaramatu and Ogulagha kingdoms, who believed their interests were ignored.

    But the President, last week, told the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwase II, that he did not scuttle the groundbreaking because of any ulterior ethnic agenda.

    He promised to ensure that the ceremony is done before the end of his administration.

    Some Itsekiri leaders had dismissed the President’s promise as another gimmick, saying it was offered to get Itsekiri votes in next month’s elections.

    Also, an Itsekiri pressure group, the Warri Interest Group (WIG), has urged Jonathan to perform the groundbreaking ceremony early next week.

    In a statement by its National Coordinator, Alex Eyengho, the WIG said: “It is a matter of using one stone to kill two birds. Mr. President, in company of the Olu of Warri, should dash to the EPZ project site at Ogidigben in the morning for the much-awaited groundbreaking ceremony, which should not take more than two hours. Thereafter, he can discuss politics with the monarch and his subjects. Doing otherwise amounts to putting the cart before the horse.

    “Mr. President has enough time between his visit to the Olu of Warri last Friday and his promised return February 4 to liaise with the Petroleum Minister, Mrs Diezani Allison-Madueke and Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan to put proper plan in place for a successful ground-breaking ceremony on February 4.

    “Any other talk or date outside this is nothing but a tortoise story, which the Itsekiri are tired of hearing concerning the EPZ groundbreaking ceremony.”

    The statement said it was not enough for President Jonathan to deny before the Itsekiri that his sudden call-off of the EPZ groundbreaking, last November, was forced by threats from his protesting Ijaw kinsmen in Gbaramatu.

    It added: “Promising the groundbreaking before end of Governor Uduaghan’s administration is another tales by moonlight. WIG’s position is that Mr. President must do the groundbreaking first on February 4, before discussing politics with the Itsekiri.

    “There is no need coming if any plan goes to the contrary. He should be reminded that Itsekiri votes come en bloc and we shall use it wisely with our heads properly on our necks on February 14.”

  • ‘Ijaw, Isoko, Itsekiri leaders yet to endorse Delta candidates’

    The Ijaw, Isoko and Itsekiri Leaders’ Forum (3Is) has distanced itself from claims of endorsement of candidates of any political party for next month’s general elections.

    In a statement yesterday by its Chairman, Edward Ekpoko, the forum said it had not endorsed or adopted anybody, adding that its position on the governorship and Delta South Senatorial candidates would soon be made known.

    The group said: “It has come to the knowledge of the Ijaw, Isoko  and Itsekiri Leaders Forum in Delta South Senatorial District that some politicians and aspirants are going about claiming to have been endorsed by the body for the forthcoming governorship and senatorial elections.

    “The Ijaw, Isoko and Itsekiri Leaders Forum has not at any time adopted any candidate for either the governorship or Delta South Senatorial seat. Though, we are aware that about three of our sons are contesting as running mate to some gubernatorial aspirants, we are yet to endorse any of them.

    “We shall make our position on the governorship and the Delta South Senatorial seat known to the public shortly. The Ijaw, Isoko and Itsekiri are advised to remain calm and disregard any contrary claim until our position is made known.”

     

  • Itsekiri, Urhobo back Buhari’s presidential bid

    Itsekiri, Urhobo back Buhari’s presidential bid

    As the February elections draw closer, more ethnic groups in Delta State have said they will vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, instead of President Goodluck Jonathan and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The Urhobo expressed their preference for Gen. Buhari through the Urhobo Nationalist Movement (UNM), a pan-Urhobo organisation at an enlarged meeting at the weekend in Warri, Delta State.

    The group said the Urhobo, working on the resolution of the Uvwiamughe Declaration, had decided that the over one million Urhobo votes would go en-bloc to either the PDP or the APC, depending on which party gave its governorship ticket to an Urhobo candidate.

    Also, a section of the Itsekiri will today in Warri inaugurate a mass movement to support Gen. Buhari’s presidential ambition.

    It said the Itsekiri was marginalised by the Jonathan administration.

    Addressing reporters after the meeting, chairman of the movement Alhaji Mumakai-Unagha stressed that the people would vote for APC because it conceded the governorship ticket to them.

    Mumakai-Unagha, who is also the national publicity secretary of the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), said the Urhobo would remain in the opposition for the next four years, if Jonathan won again.

    According to him, the Jonathan administration had not brought any development to the Urhobo.

    Mumakai-Unagha said the Urhobo had passed through thick and thin.

    On the Uvwiamuge Declaration, which recognised two political parties – the APC and PDP – the UPU chief noted that although they were in the majority, yet they were suffering.

    He told reporters that the Uvwiamuge Declaration did not include the Labour Party (LP).

    He added: “We maintained that for Mr. President and the Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, to have directed the Ijaw, through Senator James Manager and Chief Government Ekpemipolo (aka Topolo), to work against Urhobo’s interest, means there is no going back.

    “It would be recalled that the President and Chief Clark allegedly directed Tompolo to work for Delta North candidate.”

    The Itsekiri will today inaugurate a new group called Buhari Movement 4 Change (BMC) at Okere Road in Delta State.

    The group, which premised its grouse on the alleged marginalisation of the Itsekiri by the Jonathan administration, is being co-ordinated by a foremost Itsekiri activist, Prince David Iwere.

    The activist said recent actions of the Jonathan administration, especially “the unjustifiable indefinite postponement of the groundbreaking ceremony of the Ogidigben EPZ due to a mere threat by Tompolo and the dominance of Ijaw ethnic nationalities in the ruling PDP in political representation/appointment, has made it imperative for members of the group, whose political affiliation cuts across party leanings, to seek a better way forward for the Itsekiri of Delta State”.

    The group added that this informed its decision “to back Gen. Buhari’s 2015 presidential bid”.

  • Ijaw, Itsekiri quarrel over council secretariat’s location

    Ijaw, Itsekiri quarrel over council secretariat’s location

    The renewed hostility between the Ijaw and the Itsekiri in Delta State has worsened.

    Both ethnic groups have intensified their media attacks, targeting personalities and government at the federal and state levels.

    The two neighbours, sharing three local government areas have intensified their attacks on each other.

    The latest confrontation is the counterclaim on the true status of the headquarters of the Warri Southwest Local Government Area at Ogbe-Ijoh, an Ijaw town.

    An Itsekiri group, the Itsekiri Consolidated Movement (ICM), carried an advertorial on Monday in which it claimed that the Itsekiri were oppressed by the Ijaw when the state government was pressured into relocating the local government’s headquarters from Ogidigben, an Itsekiri community, to Ogbe-Ijoh.

    But the Ogbe-Ijoh/Warri Clan Governing Council, in a statement by its Chairman, Lucky Oromoni, described the Itsekiri group’s claims as a needless attempt at overheating the polity.

    It dismissed the Itsekiri group’s claim that the original local government headquarters was at Ogidigben.

    The statement stressed that the claims and allegations of the Itsekiri constituted a blackmail against the Ijaw, adding that they were targeted at President Goodluck Jonathan and former militant leader, Chief Government Ekpemupolo (aka Tompolo).

    In the statement, which the Ogbe-Ijoh group said was aimed at setting the records straight, a brief history of the creation of the local government area and the journey to the bloody ethnic crisis in the 1990s where several people died and property worth millions of naira lost, was narrated.

    The statement accused the state government of bigotry.

    It said: “We wish to state clearly that Ogidigben was never the gazetted headquarters of Warri South West Local Government Area, contrary to the assertion of the Itsekiri group. Also, the headquarters of Warri South West was never unconstitutionally moved from Ogidigben to Ogb-Ijoh. Warri South West Local Government Area (formerly Warri South Local Government Area) was created in 1996 by the administration of Gen. Sani Abacha with other newly created local government areas with headquarters at Ogbe-Ijoh town. The council functioned for three months with the election of the chairman and 10 councillors.

    “However, the Itsekiri, in their oppressive manner, used their entrenched position in government to fraudulently and illegally relocate the headquarters from Ogbe-Ijoh to Ogidigben after three months. This injustice the Ijaw could not stomach and gave birth to the unfortunate Warri crisis from 1997 to 1999 when the newly sworn-in democratic government of Chief James Ibori, in its wisdom through the Delta State House of Assembly, relocated the headquarters back from Ogidigben to Ogbe-Ijoh, the original and rightful headquarters, in line with the 1999 Constitution.

    “It is important to note that the Itsekiri challenged this action in court and failed at the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.

    “We advise the Itsekiri to stop unnecessarily overheating the polity with their needless publications and blackmail against the Ijaw, especially President Jonathan and High Chief Ekpemupolo.

    “In their usual manner, they have started their blackmail against the government and persons seeing that their reign of arrogance in the government of Delta State is coming to an end.”

  • Itsekiri to Uduaghan: don’t sacrifice our future for your ambition

    Itsekiri to Uduaghan: don’t sacrifice our future for your ambition

    The umbrella body of the Itsekiri in the Niger Delta region, the Itsekiri Leaders of Thought (ILOT), has cautioned Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan against sacrificing their future for his senatorial ambition.

    The ILOT, led by J. O. S. Ayomike, reminded the governor, through a letter, that the Itsekiri were dissatisfied with him for allegedly not contributing to their progress and development in the last 16 years.

    The letter, signed by Ayomike, Edward Ekpoko (secretary), Madam F. E. Rewane (treasurer) and A. O. Agboghoroma (member), reads: “Generally, the state, and particularly the Itsekiri, have not fared well under you, despite your nearly 16 years in government. In almost every decision, policy, action or inaction, you have consistently compromised Itsekiri for your personal, political, family or group interests and survival.

    “Over the years, you have overplayed the game of numbers to the detriment of the Itsekiri. Your administration has not only been detrimental to the development of Itsekiri but has set us back by at least 40 years.

    “What can we today point to as your greatest contribution to the Itsekiri nation, after 16 years in government? Yet, you have a desire to further represent Itsekiri interest in the Senate.”

    The ILOT noted that projects that were dear to the Itsekiri had either been abandoned or not started by the Uduaghan administration, including the Trans-Ode Itsekiri Road, Koko-Ugbenu, Ogheye Market, Ubeji Road and Ekurede-Itsekiri Road.

    The letter faulted the substitution of the Itsekiri winner of the Warri South West Local Government’s primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Oritseweyinmi Omadeli, with an Ijaw candidate, George Ekpemupolo, who is said to be the younger brother of former Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) leader, Government Ekpemupolo (aka Tompolo), as a declaration of the governor’s horse trading at the expense of Itsekiri.

    “A scenario, which witnessed the substitution of Oritseweyinmi Omadeli (an Itsekiri) as PDP chairmanship candidate for Warri Southwest Local Government Area by George Ekpemupolo, (an Ijaw) in violation of your own rotational arrangement, less than 48 hours to the election and contrary to the Electoral Law, speaks eloquently of the impunity and the disdain which the Itsekiri have been subjected to in your administration.”

  • Tension in Warri as PDP replaces Itsekiri candidate with Ijaw

    Tension in Warri as PDP replaces Itsekiri candidate with Ijaw

    LESS than 48 hours to Delta State’s local councils’ election, the Ijaw and the Itsekiri in Warri have renewed their bitter rivalry over sharing of elective political offices.

    Tension rose yesterday as hundreds of Itsekiri youths took to the streets, occupying the Olu of Warri Palace section of the Ajamimogha Road, to protest alleged moves by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to replace its chairmanship candidate for Warri South-West Local Government Area, Weyinmi Omadeli, with an Ijaw .

    Also yesterday, a group, the Itsekiri Consolidated Movement (ICM), threatened to truncate the Warri peace process, should the PDP go ahead with the replacement of Omadeli.

    The PDP Chairman in Warri South-West, Chief Boro Opudu, confirmed to The Nation that Omadeli had been replaced by the party with George Ekpemupolo, adding that the decision was taken at the state level.

     “That is purely a party affair. He has been replaced with George Ekpemupolo,” he said.

    Asked why the party made the change, Opudu said: “That question will go to the party hierarchy at the top. The chairman will answer that question from the state level, not at the local government level.

    “The local government does not have power to replace a candidate. It’s only the state that can replace a candidate. They have done it and it’s purely a party affair”.

    The development came after Ijaws in Warri, during the week, threatened an end to the fragile peace in the city, should Itsekiris continue to “monopolise” all elective political offices in the three Warri council areas.

    The spokesman for the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), Eric Omare, in an interview with The Nation, supported an earlier stance by the Warri Ijaw Monitoring Group (WIMG) on the issue.

    The Itsekiri also warned against the plot to replace Omadeli with George, the younger brother of ex-militant leader Chief Government Ekpemupolo, also known as Tompolo.

    ICM, in a statement by its Chairman, Oritsegbemi Besidone, and Public Relations Officer, Franklin Metsese, alleged that Tompolo, using his connections in the Presidency, had been working to allegedly force Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan to upturn the candidacy of Omadeli in favour of his younger brother.

    “Any attempt to replace Weyinmi Omadeli as PDP chairmanship candidate and impose George Ekpemupolo as the next council chairman or seize the Warri South-West Constituency seat from the incumbent member representing the local government, Daniel Mayuku, would result in a major crisis, capable of having a spill-over effect on the 2015 polls,” the statement said.

    The police have, however, assured the people of a peaceful council election tomorrow, as it joined the government in placing a ban on movement within the state for the period of voting.

    This was contained in a statement by its spokesman, Roland Preston (ASP).

     The security agency also warned youths not to allow themselves to be used to foment trouble during the election.

    It warned that it would deal severely with any person or group found causing disturbance before, during or after the polls.

    The command also reiterated its appeal and warning to politicians to play the game by the rules and be prepared to accept defeat in good faith.

  • Ijaw group, Itsekiri leaders in Warri trade words over councils’ polls

    An Ijaw pressure group, Warri Ijaw Peace Monitoring Group (WIPMG) and Itsekiri leaders in Warri, Delta State, traded words yesterday over elective posts ahead of Saturday’s local councils’ polls.

    It all started with WIPMG threatening that “it will not be well with the Itsekiri in Warri”, if they corner all the positions for the Saturday’s councils’ elections in the three Warri local government areas.

    The group’s coordinator, Chief Patrick Bigha, said: “There will be trouble if they (Itsekiri) refuse the Ijaws to feature a candidate, especially in the Warri North and Warri South West state constituencies.

    “As it stands now, in all the three Warri local government areas, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag-bearers in the October 25 election are Itsekiris. They are hell bent in grabbing all the House of Assembly constituencies in Warri as well as the House of Representatives seats.

    “We smell danger in Warri, hence this warning,” he said in a terse statement made available to The Nation.

    Bigha advised the Itsekiris not to throw the state into another round of crisis over the issues.

    The Nation’s checks revealed that the Itsekiris are flag-bearers of the ruling PDP in the Warri LGAs and are poised to clinch the House of Assembly slots of the party in the primaries.

    But reacting to the threat, Itsekiri leader and chieftain of the PDP in Warri, Chief Ayiri Emami, said elective offices are not won by threat of war or violence as is being done by their Ijaw counterparts, but through negotiation and political lobbying.

    “It is unfortunate and sad that the Ijaws are making threat over an election that is product of lobbying and choice of credible candidates. People who ran away from the PDP cannot come and dictate candidates to the PDP,” he stated.

    Also, a prominent Itsekiri youth leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, reminded the Ijaws that they “do not have a monopoly on violence.”

  • Isoko, Itsekiri, Urhobo unite for Aziza

    Isoko, Itsekiri, Urhobo unite for Aziza

    As the Urhobo nation buries its departed national leader, Gen. Patrick Aziza, the solidarity and brotherhood it shares with other ethnic nations in Delta becomes issues for discussion, writes BOLAJI OGUNDELE

    The death of the President-General of the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), Gen Patrick Aziza, seems to have shown that the ethnic groups in Delta State are closer than previously thought. Ethnic nations in the Delta Central and South senatorial districts have paid  condolence visits to both the UPU and the family of the deceased. Although Isoko and Ijaw nations had earlier visited and expressed their sadness at the loss of Gen. Aziza, it was the separate visits of Itsekiri nation and that of a union formed by three ethnic nations of the two districts; Ijaw, Isoko and Itsekiri Leaders’ Forum (3IS) that revealed the alignments going on in the state.

    During last week’s condolence call on the late Gen. Aziza’s family, the first revelation was made when the Itsekiri Leaders of Thought called. The group, led by its Secretary, Chief Edward Ekpoko, had expressed personal grief at the loss of the man it described as a bridge-builder, who had invested so much personally to cement the decades of relationship that had existed between the Itsekiri and Urhobo nations. After describing the sterling qualities of Aziza, pointing how he had commenced the process of building a bloc out of the tribes in the two senatorial districts, especially with the Itsekiri, which who Urhobo share one of the closest and strongest traditional bonds.

    Ekpoko emphasized the high esteem his organisation holds UPU, for two basic reasons; one being the fact that it is second oldest ethno-cultural organisation in Africa, following after the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa and the second being that fact that it is the organisation that had consistently been involved in the struggle to give the Urhobo nation it’s pride of place among all other ethnic nations in the world. He went further to emphasise the long standing relationship between his nation and that of Aziza, noting particularly the spirit of camaraderie, which had demanded over the years that the two nations always share in each other’s joy and pain, hence the request that the UPU carries the Itsekiri nation along in the burial plans as they Itsekiri would wish for nothing more than taking part in the burial responsibilities, as a family member would.

    “The death of Gen. Aziza is a loss, not just to the Urhobo, but also to us the Itsekiri, just as you have lost him, we have lost him too. As we mourn him, we mourn him as a great bridge-builder because he had managed to initiate a process of strengthening the bond between our nations when he was untimely taken. We will only request that you make an accommodation for the Itsekiri nation in preparing his final burial rites, we desire to also play a role as part of his family  because as he was leader to the Urhobo, the Itsekiri also saw a leader in him. We also wish to ask for the Urhobo nation to honour this great man’s memory by sustaining his bridge-building legacies and not allowing the efforts he invested in building a strong union and a common bloc with other ethnic nations in this part slip into waste,” he said.

    Almost at the heel of the Itsekiri Leaders of Thought arrived the Ijaw, Isoko and Itsekiri Leaders’ Forum (3IS), an organisation which is also led by Ekpoko. Leaders from the other two ethnic nations, whose organisations had made individual showings prior to last week, joined their Itsekiri co-compatriots in the expansive compound of General Aziza in Adagbrasa, Okpe council area of Delta State. The message, which was delivered by the 1st Vice Chairman of 3IS, Chief Dennis Etaluku, was not far from what the Itsekiri leaders had already relayed. “Just as we were putting our heads together to forge a united front, we lost the captain and we believe it is native for us to come and commiserate. We have come to mourn with you and to let you know that we are with you. We want to tell you that another Aziza will come”, he assured.

    The 3IS also donated N50,000 to support the efforts of the family and the UPU in hosting those who would be visiting to commiserate with them. Etaluku, however, told the family that his organization had decided to be part of the burial ceremonies of the departed Urhobo leader, urging both the UPU and the Aziza family to inform them when the time has come.

    Responding to the two groups, Acting President-General of the UPU, Chief Joe Omene, thank the Delta South leaders for the show of condolence, saying it was long expected. He said: “People have come from far and near much earlier to do what you have come to do today, but it has always been our feeling that the external condolences would not have been complete if our immediate brothers from Delta South had not paid their own visit. We have a long bond of brotherhood with the Itsekiri, although to the outside world we tend to paint ourselves as being far from each other. We can assure you that we will sustain the bridge building efforts of our late leader towards a more unified enduring Delta State.”

     

     

     

  • Uduaghan’s ambition ‘divides Ijaw, Itsekiri’

    Fresh crisis is brewing between the Ijaw and Itsekiri ethnic groups in Delta State over the “sharing” of key political offices in Warri and Delta South Senatorial district.

    A similar bickering over the location of a local government headquarters sparked off a seven-year violence between the neighbours in 1997.

    Our reporter gathered that the latest tension is over sharing of the National Assembly, State Assembly and council chairmanship slots in Warri South, Southwest and North local governments.

    Reports are rife that Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan (an Itsekiri) is set for a battle with incumbent Senator James Manager (an Ijaw) for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket in Delta South.

    Although the governor seems almost certain of winning it, Ijaw PDP politicians in Gbaramatu have vowed to resist the move.

    The politicians, under the auspices of Concerned PDP members in Gbaramatu, in an open letter to the national chairman last week, urged him to use “wisdom to steer the PDP ship to a safe harbour.”

    The letter, by Monday Torousei and Powede Uyadongha, said: “Mr chairman, the Itsekiri are at it again.

    “Just recently, the governor fixed three Itsekiri candidates in the three Warri local governments.  There have been rumblings because of the ‘satanic’ arrangement.

    “They are also preparing to feature candidates in the Warri Federal Constituency and the House of Assembly constituencies.”

  • Itsekiri leaders condemn impunity in Warri

    Members of Itsekiri Leaders of Thought, last weekend, met with Itsekiri Community in Lagos to deliberate on some thorny issues affecting the Itsekiri nation and work out a strategies to uplift the Itsekiri people.

    The members of the Itsekiri Leaders of Thought led by their chairman, Pa Johnson O. S. Ayomike briefed the meeting on the state of Itsekiri Nation, particularly the alleged lawlessness and impunity being unleashed on the people by their neighbors and the inability of Government to enforce law and order.

    He told them that Itsekiri lands have been forcefully occupied with their names changed by their neighbours in spite of several court judgments up to the Privy Council and Supreme Court. Mr Ayomike called for the cooperation and the awareness of all Itsekiri to confront the numerous challenges before the itsekiri people.

    He spoke also on the need for them to recover the numerous lands which have been illegally occupied by the some of their neighbours. Today, Itsekiri is experiencing a situation where tenants are turning themselves to landlords by force.

    The meeting re-empasised the Itsekiri ownership of warri metropolis by virtue of the leases of 1906, 1908, 1911 and 1917 and in addition to several other acts of possession.

    He reminded them not to remain aloof from happenings at home and in Nigeria.  He told them about the need to unite and to guild their loins to ensure the progress and development of ItsekIri people and their land.

    Mr Ayomike traced the  early glamorous history and development of Itsekiri land to the contributions of some Itsekiri leaders such as Diere, Chainomi , Olomu, Nanna, Chief Dore Numa, Chief Festus Okotie Eboh, Chief O. N. Rewane, Alfred Rewane and Chief E.N.A. Begho,which brought about what is now known as Itsekiri dignity, integrity and the land.

    The meeting was told that unfortunately today, the Itsekiri are loosing their virtue of dignity and integrity as well as their land as a result of the impunity and lack of respect for law and order by its immediate neighbours and the apparent government failure in this regard.  He warned that a nation, that does not respect law and order and history is destined for perfidy and anarchy.

    The group said the Itsekiri nation must  ensure the survival of Itsekiri as endangered specie through education, industrialisation, empowerment, dedication, love and peace.

    They agreed to forge a common front to struggle for the protection of minority rights for the survival of minority ethnic nations in Nigeria in the face of very oppressive majority neighbours. They reiterated their opposition to the demand for the creation of Toru Ebe state or any other state without their consent and approval.

    They also restated their demand for Warri State or to be made a special area as it was under the old Midwestern constitution of 1964. The meeting also agreed that Itsekiri must enjoy the full benefits of being the source of 80 per cent of the crude oil produced in Delta State as well as put in place measures that will enable the right people to represent Itsekiri in politics and appointments.  At the end of the meeting, everybody pledged to work assiduously to make the Itsekiri Nation great again. The meeting was attended by itsekiri from all strata of life.