The President of the Ijaw National Congress, Prof. Benjamin Okaba, has expressed dismay that President Bola Tinubu has refused to caution the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over the political crisis the latter has allegedly fuelled in Rivers State.
Okaba stated that for the President to remain quiet while Wike was causing embarrassment in his state and the nation showed that he was supporting him, saying Wike had dared the Ijaw nation and that the Ijaw nation was angry.
This is as he said the Ijaw nation has suffered marginalisation for too long despite hosting oil resources and installations that sustain the country, saying the Ijaw nation and the people of the Niger Delta can longer guarantee the safety of the oil facilities in the region.
He stated this while speaking to newsmen shortly after arriving at Government House, Port Harcourt, on Friday when he led hundreds of Ijaws youths on a solidarity march to the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara.
According to him, “We are already angered that the government of President Bola Tinubu has marginalised Ijaw people. In Delta State, where three persons were picked for a federal appointment, none are from the Ijaw nation.’
“Meanwhile, the Ijaws are the most economically viable in that state. We are noting all of this. But for him to keep quiet and allow Wike to misbehave shows that there is some tacit support. And we shall not take that.
“As we speak, our people are so angered; our people are so frustrated to the extent that we can no longer guarantee if things continue in this way, the safety of the oil installations in Ijaw land and our region.”
He added, “And if you (President) take us for granted, continue. A day shall tell whether the Ijaw people are still those who will say a thing and make it come to pass.
“Since 1958, Nigeria has been surviving on the oil that comes from Ijaw land. Today, we are crying about marginalisation; we call it environmental degradation.
“The Ijaw nation is most affected when you talk of climate change and all that. But daily, we are treated as if we are not humans. This must stop.
“40 million Ijaw people are angered and aggrieved. And they are saying that a slap on Governor Fubara is a slap on the entire Ijaw nation.
“Any attempt to further close up or political space to remove Siminalayi Fubara from office is a call for fire.”
