Delta Ijaw Comrades Vibrates, Confront Okowa With Varying Demands Of Abandonment 

By Binebai Princewill 

An intellectual dreaded Ijaw group under the aegis of Delta Ijaw Comrade Community (DICC) have on Tuesday written a strong worded communique to the Delta State Governor, His Excellency, Sen. Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa to as a matter of urgency address pressing needs of the Ijaw Comrade Community in Delta State. The Liberator Newspapers can report. 

The group which comprises of Ijaw Comrades from different intellectual backgrounds in Burutu, Bomadi, Patani, Warri North, Warri South as well as Warri South West Local Government Areas in Delta State have in the communique highlighted alleged varying degrees of negligence metted out on them by the state Government. 

The group particularly called on Governor Okowa to make adjustment in his pattern of leadership by making provision for the appointment of members of the Ijaw Comrade Community into various offices in the state, stressing that the group membership are all capable people that can deliver and function well in any capacity. 

The communique maintained that the group is disappointed over their negligence by the powers that be in the state despites all their contributions during the various elections that brought Governor Okowa to powerful, adding that it is only normal for one to eat after election, stressing that the Delta Ijaw Comrade Community is not being carried along in the process so far. 

However, the group had vowed that they will continue to occupy the media until justice is done to their matter, adding that this is just the beginning. 

The communique reads in full below:

DELTA IJAW COMRADE COMMUNITY (DICC)

His Excellency,

Senator (Dr.) Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa,

The Executive Governor of Delta State.

Government House, 

Asaba.

Your Excellency Sir, 

Being a Communique reached on Monday 2, November 2020 at the Emergency Meeting of the Leadership and Stakeholders of Delta Ijaw Comrade Community comprising Comrades of Ijaw extraction from Burutu, Bomadi, Patani, Warri North, Warri South as well as Warri South West Local Government Areas of Delta State on the seeming Continuous and Deliberate Act Geared to undermine the Comrades of Ijaw Ethnic Nationality by Coordinators of Delta State Comrade Community.

A) We write to draw your attention to the activities of Delta Comrade Community whose jurisdiction of operation as the name entails cover for all Delta State Comrades which ought to also cover for the interest of our group Delta Ijaw Comrade Community yet modelled erroneously by its leadership to deliberately sideline and undermine our group with her capacity sponsored and carried out by some misleading elements who are perhaps leveraging on their close tie with you.

B) Your Excellency, we need not to reemphasize the glaring fact that, there is no Comrade Community that is more active, influencial or significant to your victory than the Delta Ijaw Comrade Community whose members are Aluta Genarals of different cadres and purpose, that actively played major roles in their local government, wards and units to ensure that your first and second tenure bid become flawless success with outstanding poll figures.

C) Your Excellency, the embarrassing turn of event at the lopsided Delta Comrade Community can only be occassioned by a deliberate effort of some few elements misleading you with information to believing that a section of cabals holds the monopoly to negotiate the proceeds of a collective struggle due to their relationship with you.

D) We frown at this act and call on you Sir to please swing  into action by correcting what clearly looks nepotistic in the honest description of the series of event that has characterised the operation of this sectional Delta Comrade Community as convened by a few of your aides.

Your Excellency, against the above backdrop, we seek to notify you that:

1. Delta Ijaw Comrade Community is an organised body of qualified youths both in character, academia and activeness in the body polity of the state with track records of distinctiveness and are critical stakeholders in ensuring your victory.

2. Delta Ijaw Comrade Community consist of some of the most prominent youth leaders in Delta South Senatoral District spread across the LGAs of Burutu, Bomadi, Patani, Warri South West and Warri North of Delta State respectively.

3. After critical examination and evaluation of the effects of the continuous injustice metted out by some of your kinsmen who are now aides through the flagship of Delta Comrade Community, riding on the result of our collective struggle with impunity with which such matters that concern the benefit of Delta South comrades are swept under the carpet. 

4. We observe with dismay the appointments that accrue the comrade active actors is done completely to the detriment of our Delta South Comrades and particularly Delta Ijaw Comrade Community.

5. We are very much pained that Comrades of Delta South Senatorial district have been made to suffer from the appointment of two Delta North Comrades and one from the Central on student affairs to the detriment of Delta South comrades who are actively involved in ensuring the bulk of votes from the senatorial district.

6. We wish to demand  Your Excellency to appoint members of the Delta Ijaw Comrade Community via its normination into strategic offices like student affairs, youth mobilisation, sustainable community development, civil society organisation, board and media as we are membered with professionals from this field and beyond to play major role to ensure the holistic success of your administration moving forward.

 7.The purported Delta Comrade Community on your directive should be reinvented to capture more cohesive forces to ensure that a name that encapsulates us all involuntarily, is not seen to be a gathering of sectional interests of Deltans.

8. That we make this demand on principles of justice, fairness and equity as one Delta with a common agenda of the development of our state.

Signed For Delta Ijaw Comrade Community: 

Williams A. Welemu jnr (acting Chairman interim central committee, Delta Ijaw Comrade community)

Comr Basil Ujobolo (Bomadi)

Comr Boma Daniels Ekiyor (Patani)

Comr Clever Aigbe (Warri North)

Comr Oyinbi Onduku (Burutu)

Comr. Tamarakuro Tonfawei (Warri South west)