…Insists Two More States For Ijaws Must Be Included
SAN FRANCISCO, July 04, (THEWILL) – The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) worldwide Thursday kicked against the recommendation of the National Conference for the creation of 18 additional states without considering the request of two more states for the Ijaw nation.
The group said the recommendation of the conference to create 18 additional states was skewed in favour of some ethnic nationalities to the extreme detriment of the Ijaw people in the country.
A statement signed by IYC’s spokesman, Eric Omare, said the Ijaws were the first to made a request for the creation of two additional states to wit: “Toru-Ebe State” from the present Delta, Edo and Ondo States and “Oil Rivers State” from the present Rivers and Akwa Ibom States.
The statement regretted however that the conference committee on Political Restructuring and Forms of Government recommended the creation of additional 18 states across the country without considering the Ijaw requests.
“It is totally unacceptable for the Conference to recommend the creation of additional 18 states without considering the requests of the Ijaw Ethnic Nationality which is Nigeria’s 4th largest tribe,” the IYC said.
According to the Ijaw youth organisation, the conference recommendations are geared towards empowering some ethnic nationalities to have more political control to the detriment of other ethnic nationalities in Nigeria.
Specifically, the group said the recommendation of the conference was in total disregard of the political marginalisation and oppression of the Ijaws of Delta, Edo and Ondo States , who according to IYC, had requested for “the creation of Toru-Ebe State and the Ijaws of Rivers and Akwa Ibom States who requested for the creation of Oil Rivers State.”
IYC recalled that the Ijaws were the first to demand for a region of their own even before the Nigerian independence in 1960.
“And at that time there were only three regions in Nigeria which today has increased to 36 states and if the conference recommendations are implemented, they would now be 54 to 55 states out of which the North would have 28 states; Yoruba: 9 states; Ibos: 9 states, with additional two to three in South-south, but Ijaw that is the fourth largest tribe that requested for a region of their own even before independence and their leader Major Isaac Boro declared a 12-day Republic partly because of state creation would have only one state: Bayelsa State,” the statement said further.
The IYC therefore insisted that it would not and will never allow Ijaw resources to be exploited to fund and develop other states to the detriment of the Ijaws.
“And without creation of Toru-Ebe and Oil River States to liberate the politically oppressed Ijaws, the Ijaw people would have no other option than to reconsider their position in Nigeria, “ the group threatened.
It also added: “In the coming days, Ijaw Youth leaders would meet to take a position, especially to consider the role of Ijaw delegates at the ongoing National Confab, who have been docile without an agenda.”
