Niger Delta Never Had Anything On Platter Of Gold – Okaba

The National President of Ijaw National Congress, Prof. Benjamin Okaba, has said that the Niger Delta Region has never been handed anything freely, arguing that all that the region has got have been fought for through enduring agitations.
Speaking in Yenagoa at the celebration of the 56th memorial death of late Ijaw hero, Isaac Adaka Boro, Prof Okaba, threatened that the Ijaw would exit Nigeria out of frustration if they continued to fight for the things they rightfully deserved. He also warned that the governorship of Siminalayi Fubara in Rivers State should not be tampered with.
“We fought to have a state. We fought to have interventionist agencies. Nobody has given us anything on a platter of gold. So the struggle continues; the INC has the core mandate of uniting the Ijaw people. It also has the mandate of advancing the identity of an Ijaw man,” he said.
Speaking further, the INC President said, “It’s the INC duty to defend the Ijaw cause. An injury to an Ijaw man is an injury to all of us. That is why we are so focused and committed in the Rivers cause.
“The Fubara governorship can never be tampered with. We are unrepentant in our struggle to make sure that 24 years of political slavery is a thing of the past.
“Fubara has become governor and he will remain governor. Anybody that wants to touch Fubara is touching the Ijaw nation.”
Okaba defended the solidarity visit of Ijaw leaders to Fubara, saying, “When some people criticise us that INC led a protest march in Port Harcourt, I don’t have any apology for anybody.
“The matter was a serious one and it needed serious action. In advancing the Ijaw cause, we have also thought of what to do to go beyond rhetoric in advancing the programme of Ijaw people together to speak with one common voice.”
Okaba displayed a map he called the map of the Niger Delta region indicating the location of all Ijaw communities pointing out that his INC leadership has launched what he described as Ijaw Nation app to make communication easy among Ijaw people.
Speaking earlier, Nimibofa Ayawei, Secretary to the State Government of Bayelsa State who represented Governor Douye Diri, said the “act of laying wreaths should not be merely annual ritual but rather should be a profound renewal of confidentiality and commitment to the state and the Ijaw Nation”.