Emmanuel Masha 
The Ijaw National Congress (INC) has warned that there could be instability in the Niger Delta region if Rivers State Governor, Siminialayi Fubara is impeached by the Rivers State House of Assembly, following the recent Supreme Court ruling in the state.
The INC President, Benjamin Okaba, in a issued statement on Tuesday, noted that the judgment ignored the historical and political sacrifices made by the Ijaw people in Rivers State’s governance.
The INC said that the ongoing political crisis in Rivers State must not be treated as ordinary politicking that should undermine over 40 million Ijaw worldwide.
He said that the Ijaw people have played a crucial role in shaping the state’s leadership for decades, stressing that any attempt to undermine Fubara would have dire consequences for national peace and economic stability.
He said: “In 1999, an Ijaw leader, Chief Marshall Harry, was instrumental in securing the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) ticket for Peter Odili, despite a formidable challenge from Sergeant Awuse.
Harry further ensured Odili’s victory against a Kalabari opponent, Ebenezer Isokariari of the All Peoples Party (APP).
“In 2003, the INC recalled that when Marshall Harry backed Sergeant Awuse’s governorship ambition, it was not Awuse but Harry himself who was assassinated, marking a painful loss for the Ijaw people.
“By 2007, Ijaw leaders such as Soboma George and Farrah Dagogo played a decisive role in securing victory for Celestine Omehia, while Igodo, a Kalabari-Ijaw warlord, was killed during Omehia’s swearing-in to prevent security breaches.”
The INC president said that the Ijaw would not stand by and allow the tenure of Fubara to be truncated, stressing that the people would defend Governor Fubara “with every pint of blood in their veins.”
Okaba also cautioned that while the INC has worked tirelessly to preserve peace in the Niger Delta, leading to increased oil production and revenue for the nation, regrettably, the same resources are now being used to marginalise the Ijaw people.
He said: “…if Governor Fubara’s tenure is truncated by the Amaewhule-led Assembly or anybody else, the INC cannot guarantee the sustenance of the current peace in the Niger Delta, nor the continued rise in oil production”—a veiled warning of potential disruptions in the region’s petroleum industry.”
He went on to recall that “in 2011, when Rotimi Amaechi sought to nominate Tonye Cole as a minister, Patience Jonathan, the wife of then-President Goodluck Jonathan, ensured that Nyesom Wike took the slot instead.”
