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Tag: INC

  • ‘Dictatorship in civilian clothing’ – INC condemns emergency rule in Rivers

    ‘Dictatorship in civilian clothing’ – INC condemns emergency rule in Rivers

    The Ijaw National Congress (INC) has described as hasty and lopsided President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.

    President of the apex Ijaw socio-cultural organisation, Prof Benjamin Okaba, in a chat with Vanguard on Tuesday night in Yenagoa, said: “It is a clear state of dictatorship in civilian clothing.”

    He noted that the crisis would have been averted if Mr. President had reined in his minister, Nyesom Wike, who according to him is desperate to capture state power and resources with a view to turning Rivers State into his personal estate.

    His words, “The few comments we need to make now about the declaration of emergency in Rivers State is one; it is too hasty, secondly, it is lopsided and thirdly we don’t think that it complies with the constitutional provisions.

    “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 to order. Then secondly, the Wike himself has been the major antagonist as he has boldly stated clearly that he will make governance impossible for Fubara in as much as he does not dance to his tune.

    “And in a recent statement that was credited to him, he said the two conditions he must meet are; allow him control of all the LGAs in Rivers State and that he (Fubara) should sign an agreement he would not contest in 2027.

    “So, it is obvious that the man is desperate in capturing state power, state resources and wants to turn Rivers State into a personal estate and property. And the people of Rivers State are the ones to suffer and the governor who has entered into a covenant with the people of Rivers State to deliver sustainable development cannot mortgage that mandate because you want to satisfy somebody.

    “These are obvious facts flying all over the place and I thought Mr. President should look at all of these. If the stories about him having some tacit support for Wike or providing an enabling environment to advance this cause may be in the interest of all of them up there.

    “I say it is lopsided again because why would you leave Wike and sack Fubara? The best thing to do is to take off everybody that has played a major role and these are Wike in as much as the state governor and deputy governor and assembly are going, Wike should also go. In fact, Wike and all federal appointees from Rivers State should be sacked.

    ”If you don’t sack them, they will use the position they have now to perpetrate more crises and play a more advantageous role to themselves and all these cries that they want to take over Rivers State are just being played out and it is not good for democracy.”

    Continuing, the INC President said: “We have seen right from the beginning that the declaration of state of emergency was one of the options Wike was looking at if the judiciary could not remove him quickly, and if the House of Assembly was unable to take him off. The last option he has is to create a chaotic situation so that an emergency rule can be imposed on the state.

    “So, for Ijaw people, we are not too happy because we feel that this is another slap on us but again as to what our position will be, it will be deliberated upon in a wider stakeholders meeting that will be convened later.

    “The safety and security of Gov Fubara must be guaranteed by the president…. I’m sure Fubara’s security would be in jeopardy now that the military had taken over the reign of power in the state, we must start now to demand that the safety of our son Fubara must be sacrosanct and guaranteed at all cost. The world is watching and I’m sure this is a clear state of dictatorship in civilian clothing! We need the Ijaws worldwide to rise up and place Mr. President on notice should anything wrong happen to our son Fubara!!

  • Rivers Crisis: INC, IYC, told to refrain from violent threats

    Rivers Crisis: INC, IYC, told to refrain from violent threats

    The South-South Reawakening Group, SSRG, has called on the Ijaw National Congress, INC, Ijaw Youth Council, IYC and other organizations in the Niger Delta to refrain from threatening violence over the political crisis in Rivers state.

    The group said though the outcome of the Supreme Court may not have gone down well with the state government, “it is not enough for anybody to threaten violence as a way of venting anger over the matter”.

    Joseph Ambakederimo, Convener South South Reawakening Group in a statement in Port Harcourt on Wednesday some damaging comments or actions made by the groups and other individuals were detrimental to peaceful coexistence in the polity.

    “We enjoined our people to at all times abide by dialogue and follow through with due process to resolve political misunderstanding. We are sounding this warning more especially when the Governor himself has pledged to abide by the Supreme Court judgement and implement same to the latter.

    “The Governors position is the right thing to do and every responsible democrat should do, therefore any other extraneous approach should be discountenanced at this time”.

    Ambakaderimo said that the era of vandalization of Oil infrastructure in the Niger Delta region is old fashioned and such thoughts should be divorced from every one’s mind while dialogue should be the way to go and “reason should provide for us the pathway forward”.

    He also called on the Governor to be circumspect about his own choice of words. “He should do more of strategic engagement rather than going further into sleepy slop. The wellbeing of the Rivers people should be paramount at this time and not engaging with misdirected trouble mongers”.

    Meanwhile, Babbe Youths in Ogoni called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to checkmate the excesses of Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, and RT. Hon. Martins Amaehule, in Rivers State to allow Governor Sir Siminalayi Fubara to focus on the development of Ogoniland and other parts of the state.

    The youths made that appeal at the presidential dialogue and consultation committee on oil and gas exploration in Ogoniland, held in Bori, Khana local government area of the state on Wednesday.

    Comrade Effort Ndeesor, a youth leader in Ogoni urged President Tinubu to caution Chief Nyesom Wike and Martins Amaehule against interfering with governance in Rivers State.

    He emphasized the need for Governor Sir Siminalayi Fubara to focus on governing the state without distractions. He warmed that “nobody can remove the first elected governor from Rivers South East Senatorial District and that Ogonis are united and in solidarity with Opobo people, because they are our good neighbours and brothers.

    “This call to action underscores concerns about potential power struggles and the importance of allowing democratically elected officials to fulfill their duties without undue influence or interference”.

    Solomon Lenu of the civil society group said “Enough is enough; we won’t allow anyone to disrupt the peace in Rivers State. We received the news of the Supreme Court judgment with mixed feelings and heavy hearts, but we’ll abide by the rule of law.

    “The Babbe people remain committed to peaceful resolution”, emphasizing the need to allow the governor to work for the benefit of the state. “We won’t be intimidated or distracted; we’ll continue to support the governor’s efforts to develop Rivers State,” Lenu concluded.