N-Delta dialogue: Itsekiri, Urhobo groups blast Ijaw leaders
By Emma Amaize, Egufe Yafugborhi & Perez Brisibe
WARRI—THE Warri Study Group, WSG, an Itsekiri ethnic nationality organisation in Delta State, yesterday, said that it had no confidence in Chief Edwin Clark and other Ijaw leaders, parading themselves as negotiators, to lead the coastal states of the Niger Delta in any dialogue with the Federal Government.
Also, Urhobo youths, under the auspices of Urhobo Youth Leaders Association, UYLA, in the state, have accused Ijaw monarchs and leaders of betraying other ethnic groups in the region, saying that it was the reason the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate, NDGJM, a militant group, has continued bombing pipelines in the region.
Chairman of WSG, Edward Ekpoko, who spoke with Vanguard on phone, said: “We are not against dialogue with the Federal Government, but we are saying that we do not have confidence in the Ijaw leaders presently driving the peace process.
It’s Ijaw agenda – Edward Ekpoko,
“So far, what we have seen is an Ijaw agenda. All the demands are Ijaw demands. The problem of Niger Delta is not what they are articulating. Our problem is poor management of the resources that come to the region and we have to address it. It is not the same people that have been parading about since the former President Goodluck Jonathan regime that should lead us again.”
WSG, earlier in a communiqué, by Ekpoko and secretary, Tony Ede, cautioned the Federal Government not to equate Ijaw agenda for the plan of other Niger Delta ethnic nationalities.
They said: “The Federal Government should be wary of dialoguing with emerging traditional rulers, leaders of thought, elders or stakeholders, as peace builders.”
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