Elders Forum hails new Ijaw Congress leadership

Our ReporterThe Ijaw Elders Forum (IEF), Lagos State chapter, has described as a new dawn, emergence of the new leadership of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), following an election on March 30.This is contained in a statement by IEF Chairman Chief Bukazi Etete and Secretary Efiye Bribena, yesterday in Yenagoa.The statement felicitated with the new executive of INC, led by Prof. Benjamin Okaba and the Ijaw Nation for the peaceful and credible election.The IEF in the statement said the poll produced a generally accepted leadership for the foremost socio-cultural organisation of the Ijaw Nation.We congratulate our Vice Chairman, Chief Atamuno Atamuno, on his election as Vice President 1 of INC Worldwide.Read Also; My emergence as INC president divine, says OkabaWe acknowledge the electoral committee led by Prof. Dagogo Fubara, for navigating through the initial difficulties to organise a credible and fair election widely accepted by all parties.The Ijaw Nation owes you and your team a load of gratitude for a job well done.We also acknowledge the great Ijaw men and women that volunteered to serve the Ijaw Nation through INC but lost in the election.You are indeed patriots for conceding and acknowledging that the election process was fair and credible, the statement said.It also said the sense of sportsmanship displayed by those who participated in the election gave hope for better leadership in Ijaw Nation.The forum hailed Governor Douye Diri for the support given to INC and for allowing the executive a free hand in the election.The statement acknowledged the patriotic Ijaw men and women that challenged the status-quo to produce the electoral feat for the Ijaw Nation.It said with the emergence of Okaba led executive, there was hope that the Ijaw agenda would take centre stage in articulating Ijaw interests.The IEF noted that when interacting with other ethnic nationalities and groups, the Ijaw ethnic nationality would be accorded its rightful place.We expect the new EXCO to lead the Ijaw Nation to take its rightful place as the fourth largest tribe in Nigeria. Expectations are high.We expect a very robust engagement with all parties concerning the existential threats facing the Ijaw people, the continuous despoliation and destruction of our environment, it said.The statement added that the continuous exploitation of mineral resources without adequate compensation to Ijaw people, the general neglect and issues bordering on self-determination should be addressed.
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