By Deborah Coker
Abuja, Jan. 15, 2025 (NAN) The Ijaw National Congress (INC) Worldwide has advised some people of Rivers to avoid statements capable of causing ethnic crisis in the state.
Chief Ezonebi Oyakemeagbegha, National Publicity Secretary, INC Worldwide, gave the advice in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.
Oyakemeagbegha, said his advice follows assertions in some quarters that Rivers is the 6th Igbo state.
He said the statement was misleading as it did not reflect the true situation in Rivers.
He said the fact that an Ikwerre indigene emerged the president-general of `faction’ of Ohaneze Worldwide did not confer the status of 6th Igbo state on Rivers as claimed by one Ikwerre indigene.
“The INC ordinarily would not have responded to such reports if not for the fact that such publications can mislead the gullible reading public.
“For the education of our people and the entire reading public, the INC wishes to state categorically, that Rivers, as currently populated cannot be referred to as an Igbo state.
“Rivers population currently has more than 50 per cent as Ijaws. There are also other ethnic nationalities like Ogoni, Ekpeye, and Eleme.
“Concede that there are people within the lkwerre ethnic nationality who trace their origin to the Igbo ethnic nationality.
“The fact still remains that they are infinitesimal as some historians within the same Ikwerre ethnic nationality are daily disputing their ties to the Igbos,” he said.
He said similarly, it would be unjust for Ijaw nation to claim ownership of states by mere fact that such states contain Ijaw population.
“For the sake of clarity, the fact that Ijaw exists in states like Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Abia does not make such states Ijaw states.
“Also that Prof. Benjamin Okaba, the President of INC is from Delta, does not automatically convert it to Ijaw state.
“Ijaws lay claim only to Bayelsa as an Ijaw state simply because it is predominately occupied by the Ijaws. The fact of geography, history and ethnic web does not lie.
“Ijaws are not ready to concede any inch of their land to anybody. For those who have little flair for history, ljaws are known never to bow to anybody,’’ Oyakemeagbegha said.
He recalled that ljaw people have a history as the only ethnic nationality that was never conquered by the colonialists.
He, therefore, said INC would continue to resist any attempt to annex an ancestral land of the Ijaw people,
