DELTA: IJAWS VS ITSHEKIRIS, OKOWA HAS NEGLECTED US, SAYS IJAWS.

See letter :

OPEN LETTER TO HIS EXCELLENCY SENATOR (DR) IFEANYI OKOWA ON RECENT POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN WARRI FEDERAL CONSTITUENCY AS IT AFFECTS THE IJAWS

Your Excellency Sir,
We wish to bring to your attention certain political decisions taken at the State level of which you have played prominent roles and the need to trade with caution for the political survival of our great party, PDP in the Warri Federal Constituency - the three Warri local Government Councils.

The Ijaws and Itsekiris have no good political relationship when it comes to political representation in the three Warri local Government Councils and this in time past have led to crises. In order to prevent further crises, political solutions were introduced by the Ibori administration together with the party leadership at the State level. And one of such solutions is the sharing of political offices to bring about peace. Your Excellency, to be candid, one does not need to remind you of this because you were part of such Governments in the past and ought to been abreast with facts when it comes to Warri politics.

However, having noticed these short comings on the part of His Excellency and the dangers ahead, we are constrained to let His Excellency know how previous Governments were managing these ethnic groups in the past. Former Governor James Ibori and the PDP leadership in Delta State ensured every party member has sense of belonging on political representation. First, James Ibori introduced equal number of Commissioners in the State cabinet where the Ijaws and Itsekiri had equal in the Warri Federal Constituency. This, former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan maintained in his eight years.

Upon your assumption in office, the story has changed for worst! First, you appointed all Commissioners from Warri Federal Constituency from the Itsekiri ethnic group - Rev. Shola Williams (Warri North), Hon. Vincent Uduaghan (Warri South) and Hon. Mofe Pira (Warri South West) leaving out the Ijaws in Egbema, Isaba, Ogbe-Ijoh and Gbaramatu. First of its kind in the history of Warri Federal Constituency in the past sixteen years of democratic rule. Some have argued that the Ijaws produced Deputy Governor and therefore no longer entitled to Commissionership from the Warri Federal Constituency, then we asked - The Itsekiris producing the Governor in the person of Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan does not prevent them from having Commissioners from Warri Federal Constituency, it's only in the Ijaw case that Deputy Governor is more important that any other political office.

Your Excellency recently held a meeting with PDP stakeholders where party offices in the ongoing congress were shared and in the Warri Federal Constituency, the following were zoned: 1. State Deputy Chairman 2. State  Assistant Secretary 3. State Assistant Publicity Secretary and 4. Senatorial Woman leader. Of all these, the State Deputy Chairman is the highest office zoned to Warri Federal Constituency. Your Excellency directed former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan to nominate an Itsekiri person to fill that position leaving the Ijaws of Ogbe-Ijoh, Isaba, Gbaramatu and Egbema with nothing tangible at State party level is quiet disturbing.

Your Excellency is aware that in the last sixteen years, it was the Itsekiris that held all the juicy positions in the State including the Senatorial Chairman in the person of Hon. Kenneth Afejuku. This is in addition to the Warri Federal Constituency Representative in the persons of Temi Harriman, Daniel Reyenieju and all the three House of Assembly seats since 1999 to date are occupied by the Itsekiris without Ijaw representative.

Your Excellency, the Ijaws in Warri Federal Constituency are worried and disturbed that recent political development in your Government as regard to their political survival needs to be looked into to restore Ijaws mechanical solidarity in your Government.

We condemn in its entirety your intention to give the State Deputy Chairman position to the Itsekiris by asking Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan to nominate and to further suffocate the Ijaws in the Warri Federal Constituency. We say no!

Press unit,
NIGER DELTA SCHOLARS