Ijaw Group Berates INC For Taking Sides In Rivers Political Crisis

A group, the Rivers Ijaw Peoples Congress (RIPCO), has decried the recent decision of the Ijaw National Congress (INC) to take sides in the ongoing political crisis rocking Rivers State.

RIPCO, in an open letter made available to journalists in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, faulted the claims of INC President, Professor Benjamin Okaba, on the crisis, saying the press release issued by the pan-Ijaw organisation was laced with numerous falsehoods and half truths.

The open letter, which was jointly signed by RIPCO’s Leader, Senator George Thompson Sekibo; Director-General, Dr. Rowland Sekibo, and Secretary, Dr. Erastus Awortu, said Prof. Okaba’s approach had only succeeded in escalating the political tension instead of calming it.

The group said: “Rather than calming the tensions, the INC President’s approach appears to exacerbate the crisis in Rivers State. For reasons only known to him, Professor Okaba has chosen to allow the situation to escalate further. His statements, marked by inconsistency and lack of clarity, leave us no choice but to correct the narrative for the benefit of the public.

“As his relatives and fellow Ijaw brothers under the INC umbrella, we feel responsible for ensuring that the public receives a more balanced and accurate understanding, especially given his failure to live up to the expectations of a leader and father figure for the Ijaw people of Nigeria.

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“First, the purported defection he mentioned was before the President’s intervention.

“Governor Siminalayi Fubara, after agreeing and signing the terms of the intervention agreement, gathered people in the government house the next morning, where they publicly condemned the president’s intervention as unconstitutional and attacked the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and the President.

“Governor Fubara, in a meeting with some Ijaw leaders from Bayelsa, declared that the document he signed was unconstitutional, that he signed it to keep the Assembly members floating, and that it was just a mere paper without legal backing.

“Thereafter, Governor Fubara sponsored some so-called elders and civil society to challenge the Presidential Intervention Peace Agreement in court and declined to uphold its contents.

“In contrast, the Assembly members withdrew their matters and impeachment notices already
served on him in accordance with the terms of the Intervention Peace Agreement.

“Governor Fubara, in utter disregard of the truce, mobilised thugs and trucks in an attempt to demolish the residential quarters of the Assembly members, but for the timely intervention of security agents.

“In furtherance of his contempt of the agreement, Governor Fubara ignored the Assembly and continues to run the state without an Assembly including not laying the 2024 Budget to this day.”