The Ijaw Elders Forum (IEF), Lagos, has called for urgent restructuring of Nigeria and the implementation of true federalism, warning that the country’s growing governance challenges, insecurity and perceived marginalisation of the Ijaw people threaten national unity and stability.
In a statement jointly signed by its Chairman, Chief Bukazi Etete, and Secretary, Efiye Bribena, the forum said Nigeria’s current federal structure has failed to address longstanding inequities and called for a comprehensive national dialogue on restructuring, fiscal federalism and resource control.
The forum argued that the nation’s political and constitutional challenges could not be resolved through elections alone, insisting that Nigeria requires far-reaching reforms, including devolution of powers, state policing, judicial reforms and electoral reforms.
According to the group, the Ijaw people, described as Nigeria’s fourth-largest ethnic nationality and custodians of the country’s oil-rich Niger Delta, have continued to bear the environmental and economic burden of oil production without receiving commensurate benefits.
The elders lamented that communities across the Niger Delta remain plagued by pollution, poor infrastructure, inadequate healthcare, lack of potable water and deteriorating livelihoods despite decades of contributing significantly to the nation’s economy.
They cited the prolonged gas leak in Bille community in Rivers State as evidence of what they described as government neglect of oil-producing communities and called for immediate environmental remediation across the Niger Delta, beginning with Bille as a national emergency.
The forum also criticised the current 13 per cent derivation formula, saying it falls short of the principles of true fiscal federalism and fails to compensate oil-producing communities for the environmental degradation they have suffered.
It further condemned what it described as the exclusion and marginalisation of Ijaw communities during the recent divestment programmes by international oil companies, alleging that affected communities were left out of critical decisions despite bearing the environmental consequences of oil exploration.
The group rejected what it termed “elite capture,” arguing that awarding contracts to a few individuals of Ijaw extraction could not replace meaningful development, environmental restoration and economic justice for the wider population.
The IEF also expressed concern over what it described as the exclusion of the Niger Delta from the Federal Executive Council’s N3.9 trillion road and infrastructure projects approved on June 29, 2026, describing the decision as another example of neglect of the oil-producing region.
Among its demands, the forum called for a time-bound national dialogue on restructuring, a new derivation formula based on true fiscal federalism, transparent management of Niger Delta development funds, revival of stalled seaport, road and power projects in Ijaw land, comprehensive judicial and electoral reforms, and an investigation into the exclusion of the Niger Delta from the recently approved federal infrastructure projects.
The elders urged the Federal Government, the National Assembly and all Nigerians to address what they described as the structural injustices confronting the Ijaw people, warning that failure to act could further deepen divisions within the federation.
“We ask only for a fair place in a Nigeria that works for all its peoples,” the statement said, adding that the time had come for courageous leadership and decisive action to strengthen national unity through justice, equity and inclusive development.
