IYC condemns Governor Wike’s ‘anti-Ijaw’ remarks

Last Updated: January 6, 2022By

The Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide has expressed displeasure with comments allegedly credited to the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, which it said was against the Ijaw nation.

Wike while speaking during the Ogoni Day celebration was said to have remarked that the Ijaw were behaving as if they owned the Niger Delta.

The President of IYC, Peter Timothy Igbifa, in a statement, condemned the attack on the Ijaw nation and Igbifa wondered what the Ijaw Nation had done to Wike to warrant such public outburst against the ethnic group that had supported his administration from inception.

Igbifa recalled that an Ijaw man and former President Goodluck Jonathan; an Ijaw woman and former First Lady Patience Jonathan alongside other Ijaw leaders picked Wike and made him the governor of Rivers against all other Ijaw aspirants including the ones they promised ticket

The statement reads “We don’t know where he got his impressions from. But whatever he said does not represent our noble ethnic group. Ijaws died in the 2015 elections that saw the emergence of Nyesom Wike as the Chief Executive Officer of Rivers State”, the IYC boss said.

“We are disappointed that Wike could stand on a public rostrum and throw tantrums at the Ijaw nation. His remarks were to say the least unfortunate.

“The Rivers Governor should have exercised restraints in his public utterances despite his misgivings against the Ijaw as a mark of respect for former President Goodluck Jonathan, his wife, Patience and other Ijaw leaders, who railroaded him into the governorship seat of Rivers State.

“It was by virtue of these leaders that Wike first became a Minister and then a governor of Rivers State. His comment is an insult against these leaders and an ungrateful demonstration that he didn’t value the roles they played in his life”.

“It is wrong for a governor who has always carried himself as a democrat to make such negative remarks against a patriotic nation agitating for the common good of the entire Niger Delta.

“It is the constitutional right of all citizens despite their location to hold peaceful demonstration unless Wike is saying that the constitution has barred the Ijaws from holding protests in Rivers State.

I “We want to remind Wike that though the Ijaws have never said they owned the Niger Delta, we remain grateful to other ethnic groups that joined in making Niger Delta region outstanding. The vocal voice, contributions and agitations alongside our Ogoni, Ikwerre, Urhobo and Itsekiri brothers have been the reason why the Niger Delta has received global attention.

“These efforts are the main reasons for the creation of the NDDC, Niger Delta Ministry and the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) which have renegotiated the fortunes of the Niger Delta.

“The Rivers State Governor owes us an apology for his unwarranted and unprovoked attack against the Ijaw nation. His remarks were to say the least provocative and insensitive”.

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