A political pressure group, the Rivers Restoration Movement (RRM), has accused the president of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Professor Benjamin Okaba, of working against the emergence of Rivers State Governor Sir Siminalayi Fubara in 2023.
RRM, in a statement issued in Port Harcourt yesterday, was reacting to a recent statement credited to Okaba on the political crisis going on in the state.
The statement was signed by Hon. Johnson Georgewill and Mrs Sarima Akpata, the group’s director-general and secretary, respectively.
It reads in part: “Rivers Restoration Movement knows this as a fact that the Benjamin Okaba led INC worked against the emergence of Gov Sim Fubara in 2023 when the political leader of Rivers State and minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, did everything with the help of God and his faithful followers to ensure Governor Sim is victorious, so one begins to wonder the intention of these new found love to a man they said wasn’t a true Ijaw man.
“RRM finds it laughable that INC will caution Mr President’s body language, neutrality, honesty and good faith when they all know Mr President was the pillar behind the peace deal that was brokered in the villa with all parties signing to the agreement on the 18th of December 2023 only for Governor Fubara to renege and disobey almost everything Mr President told him to do as a father.
It is public knowledge from the 8-point peace pact signed that Governor Sim refused to recognise the leadership of Rt Hon Martins Ahmaehule and 26 others as agreed, but INC was nowhere to be found.
“INC was also silent when Governor Sim refused to allow the RSHA to choose where to sit and perform their legislative duties.
“Prof Benjamin Okaba was silent when Gov Sim refused to represent the 2024 budget as agreed in Aso Rock and signed by all parties.”
