The Ijaw ethnic nationality in the Niger Delta has described President Bola Tinubu as being too hasty in declaring emergency rule in Rivers State, adding that it is a slap on their face.
The President of the Ijaw National Congress, Professor Benjamin Okaba, stated this in an interview he granted Vanguard Newspaper.
Okaba said had President Tinubu called the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to order as requested by many, the situation would not have degenerated as far as it did.
He told Vanguard Newspaper: “For Ijaw people, we are not too happy because we see this as another slap on us. But again, our position will be deliberated upon in a wider stakeholders’ meeting that will be convened later.
“In that meeting, I am sure the Ijaw people will look at how we have fared in this Nigerian project and what options are left to drive home our quest for self-determination.
“We say it is hasty because the President has so much opportunity to leverage on the calls made by Nigerians from all quarters to call his minister, Nyesom Wike, to order.
Also Read:
- 12 inmates escape in Kogi jail break
- Coalition of Political Leaders: Clarification, by Salihu Moh. Lukman
- Ekiti Varsity to confer Honorary Doctorate on Senate Leader
- Photos: Iba Gani Adams visits Alaafin ahead of coronation
- Ebonyi Children’s Parliament wants public schools libraries, laboratories revamped
“Secondly, while Wike himself has been the antagonist, he had boldly stated that he would make governance impossible for the governor, Siminalayi Fubara, inasmuch as he does not dance to his tune.
“In a recent statement credited to him, he (Wike) said the two conditions he must meet are: ‘Allow him to control all the LGAs in Rivers State, and that he (Fubara) should sign an agreement that he would not contest in 2027.’
“So, the man, Wike, is desperate to capture state power and resources, as we had said earlier, and persistently.
“He wants to turn Rivers State into his property, and the people of Rivers State are the ones to suffer.
“The governor, who entered into a covenant with the people of Rivers to deliver on sustainable development, cannot mortgage that mandate because he wants to satisfy somebody.
“These are obvious facts flying all over the place, and I thought the President should have looked at all of these.
“I said it is lopsided—why will you leave Wike and sack Sim?
“The best thing is to remove everybody who played a role in this.
“Wike has to be sacked, and all the federal appointees from the state also have to be sacked because if you do not sack them, they will use their positions to perpetrate more crises and create more advantageous roles for themselves.
“The cry that they want to take over Rivers State is gradually playing out and is not better for democracy.
“The other issue in this state of emergency is that we have seen right from the beginning that the declaration was one of the options Wike was looking at.
“He felt if the judiciary cannot remove him quickly, if the House of Assembly could not take him off, then the next option is to create a chaotic situation so that an emergency can be imposed on the state.”
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
