Delta Guber Primaries: Stop Campaign Of Calumny, Leave President Jonathan Out Of Delta Politics – IYC Tells Urhobos

Francis Sadhere

The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, has called on the Urhobos agitating for the Governorship seat in Delta State to go about their agitation with decorum and separate President Jonathan’s re-election bid from the politics of Delta State, noting that the Goodluck Presidency was the collective project of all Niger-Deltans/minorities in Nigeria and not Ijaws alone.

IYC stated this today in a press statement signed by its spokesman, Barrister Eric Omare.

The Ijaw group noted that it had watched with keen interest the series of press releases and text messages circulating in Delta State and beyond arising from the party primaries for the selection of Governorship Candidates in Delta State particularly those accusing President Jonathan of masterminding the winner through his kinsmen in Delta State and the threat of protest vote against him in the 2015 Presidential elections.

IYC stressed that the internal primaries to elect the flag bearer of a political party especially the Peoples Democratic Party in Delta State should be separated from the Presidential election.

It added that the role of President Jonathan as leader of the party was to ensure a level playing field for all the aspirants, a tax they said he did in the case of the Delta State PDP primaries.

“It is totally wrong and unfair for individuals, groups and ethnic nationalities in Delta State to attribute the actions of some Ijaw politicians and businessmen in Delta State to President Jonathan. Ijaws in Delta State just like individuals from other ethnic nationalities have a right to support any aspirant of their choice. There was no time the Ijaws in Delta State collectively agreed to work against an Urhobo Candidate in the PDP governorship primaries.

“The IYC has it on good authority that some Urhobo delegates from the Delta Central and South Senatorial Districts voted for the winner of the PDP governorship primaries elections, Dr. Okowa. Therefore, one wonder if is it right for the leaders of the Urhobo Progressive Union and other groups to blame President Jonathan for the actions of the Urhobo delegates.

“While the IYC and the Ijaw Ethnic Nationality appreciate and is in need of the support of other ethnic nationalities in the South-South Region towards the re-election of President Jonathan, we wish to advise that the re-election of President Jonathan is not about Ijaw interest or South South interest alone. The re-election of President Jonathan is about minority protection in Nigeria. The IYC desire a Nigeria where an Urhobo, Tiv, Idoma, Efik, Itsekiri, Igala etc can stand up anything and would be treated equally as a Nigeria and this is what the 2015 Presidential election is about,” IYC stated.