The President of the Itsekiri National Youths Council, INYC, Comrade Agbateyiniro Weyinmi has stated that Senator James Manager’s fifth term ambition to the Senate is threatening the power rotation/zoning principle of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Delta State as it affects the Delta South Senatorial district made up of the Ijaw, Itsekiri and Isoko ethnic nationalities.
In a press briefing in Warri, Comrade Agbateyiniro stated that the senatorial district seat is expected to be rotated between the three tribe with the Isoko having taken their turn for only one term and Chief James Manager of the Ijaw extraction running an uninterrupted fourth tenure and currently angling to go for the fifth tenure come 2019 and thereby depriving the Itsekiris of ascending to the position in compliance/respect to the power rotation/zoning principle for the Delta South district.
Senator James Manager had at the Delta South PDP mega rally held at Oleh, the headquarters of Isoko South Local Government Council told the multitude of PDP faithfuls including Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa, former Governors Chief James Ibori, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, Chief Broderick Bozimo, Chief Solomon Ogba and other key PDP stalwarts that he has consulted God in Heaven and man on Earth that he is returning to the Senate come 2019.
According to the INYC president, this zoning/rotational arrangement has afforded minority tribes at various levels to occupy even the highest political offices in the country, noting that having secured the benefit of getting into the Senate through the same arrangement, it is morally wrong for Senator Manager to wish to seat tight at the Red Chamber since 2003 and still boasting of going for a fifth term, saying it is not acceptable to them and the Itsekiri nation wants to take their turn or they shall take steps to move to any other party that would take and treat their interest seriously.
He reminded Senator James Manager that in the Three Warri Federal Constituency, the Itsekiris remain in clear majority but due to the rotation arrangement the Ijaws and Urhobos have continued to share principal political offices with the Itsekiris, a situation that Itsekiris in other Local Government areas in the state do not enjoy as in Okpe, Uvwie, Sapele, Ethiope West and even Edo State saying that is the making of the PDP government.
The INYC in a statement signed by Comr. Agbateyiniro and Comr. Appearance Afejuku therefore call on the National leadership of the PDP to request Senator James Manager and any other Ijaws for that matter to jettison their Senatorial ambition in the interest of the power rotation principle, peace, justice, fairness and equity failing which the INYC would take to mean that “all political understanding, agreement, compromises and resolutions reached between Itsekiris and other tribes have been breached including resisting the clandestine moves by some Itsekiris to cede the Warri South-West Constituency House of Assembly seat to the Ijaws and further take steps to irrevocably emplace legal means to recognize Ogidigben and not Ogbe-Ijoh as the legal headquarters of Warri South-West Local Government Council.
