Ijaw group petitions Akeredolu, alleges marginalisation

Indigenes of Arogbo Ijaw community in Ese-Odo Local Government of Ondo State resident in Lagos have rejected the composition of the 11-man committee recently inaugurated by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu for the creation of local council development areas in the state.

In a communiqué after a meeting convened by the Arogbo Ijaw Community Organisation (AICO) to deliberate on the matter, the community said though the idea of creating more council areas as a catalyst for development is a step in the right direction, the non-inclusion of an Ijaw person in the committee to represent the interest of their people is not acceptable.

The statement by the convener of the meeting, Goodluck Kpemi and AICO Chairman, James Ashidi, said the Ijaw terrain is difficult to access and that the committee would require the knowledge of people within the area to carry out its investigation there.

It reads in part: “It is against this background that we appeal for the inclusion of our representative to ensure that the outcome of the assignment does not bristle with problems capable of enveloping the entire Niger Delta axis of Ondo State.

“Already, we have a functional council area created by Second Republic Governor Adekunle Ajasin of blessed memory, in fulfillment of a campaign promise by the late Pa Obafemi Awolowo, who visited Arogbo in 1979 while on a campaign trip. Before it was created, the late Pa Ajasin went the whole hug to ensure a peaceful exercise, by co-opting some indigenes of Arogbo Ijaw to work with the government. This helped tremendously in nipping many problems in the bud.”

Mr. Suffy Uguoji, who identified himself as the AICO liaison officer for Abuja, Lagos and Akure, said the government ought to have co-opted a person of Arogbo Ijaw extraction into the committee, since the area is the only non-Yoruba speaking one in the state.

He said: “Ondo State is a purely Yoruba-speaking state and the 11 members of the committee are all Yoruba-speaking. The only group in the state that does not speak Yoruba are the Ijaws.