The Ijaw National Congress (INC) worldwide has expressed deep concern over the increasing spate of attacks targeted at prominent Ijaw individuals holding strategic positions in government.
The President of the INC, Prof. Benjamin Okaba, on Sunday in Yenagoa, lamented that these attacks, largely driven by personal and small-group interests rather than the collective good of the Ijaw nation, threaten not only the progress of the individuals involved but also the credibility and reputation of the Ijaw people as a whole.
He explained that the majority of these campaigns of calumny, blackmail, and manifestations of the ‘evil pull-him-down syndrome’ were orchestrated by fellow Ijaws.
His words were, “In recent times, we have witnessed a plethora of deliberate, well-coordinated, desperate, and deadly efforts to discredit, malign, and undermine key Ijaw leaders who have been making significant contributions to the development of the Ijaw nation, the Niger Delta, and Nigeria at large.
Among those who have faced these unjustified attacks are Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Dennis Burutu Otuaro, Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, and Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo (Tompolo) and his security company, Tantita Security Services Ltd. These individuals have dedicated their efforts to improving the security, development, and overall welfare of Ijaws and the Niger Delta. Yet, they have become targets of slander, petitions, protestations, and other calculated schemes designed to discredit their work. The latest victim of this troubling trend is Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), who is now facing threats of mass protests, multiple petitions, and a smear campaign orchestrated to derail his administration.
The INC strongly condemns these actions and warns that such internal sabotage is detrimental to the progress of the Ijaw people, and hence will not be tolerated.
According to Okaba, “These divisive attacks, often fueled by selfish interests rather than for the general good of the Ijaw people, are putting the Ijaw nation in a negative light before the Nigerian government and the international community. If these malicious actions continue, they will only result in national and international political leadership sidelining Ijaw leaders in national and sub-national appointments.
This will be a major setback for our people, who have fought tirelessly to gain this level of recognition and leadership roles in national and international affairs. The ripple effect of this character assassination on the general well-being of the Ijaw can only be imagined.
The INC strongly believes in and encourages Ijaws in all spheres of life to hold our leaders at all levels (community, council, state, and national) accountable through more civilized and constructive engagement and criticism mechanisms, deploying the already well-established institutional frameworks existing at our community and ethnic organization platforms.
Continuing, the INC President said: “We will not sit idly by and watch unpatriotic individuals or groups tarnish our collective image and undermine the progress that has come to us at the cost of great sacrifices—including the blood of many Ijaw heroes. This is a serious warning to all those engaging in these dastardly and destructive acts.
It is important to emphasize that Dr. Ogbuku (like those mentioned earlier) has demonstrated outstanding leadership and performance as the Managing Director of the NDDC. His tenure has seen the implementation of numerous impactful projects, including: The “Light up Niger Delta” campaign, which has delivered thousands of solar-powered streetlights across various communities and many ongoing dredging and land reclamation projects, as well as road projects across the Niger Delta, which are crucial for infrastructural and economic development.
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