Port Harcourt – The Rivers Restoration Movement (RRM) has demanded the resignation of the President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Prof. Benjamin Okaba, for alleged misconduct.
The group also accused Okaba of gross incompetence, lack of direction, irresponsibility, recklessness, and making inflammatory remarks against FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, and the emergency rule in Rivers.
The group’s Director-General, Johnson Georgewill, and Secretary, Mrs Sarima Akpata, made the demand in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, stating that Okaba’s remarks could inflame ethnic tensions in the state.
They argued that as the leader of the INC, Okaba ought to remain neutral and assume a fatherly role rather than displaying open partisanship in the ongoing political crises in Rivers.
“This is particularly important given that there are Ijaws on both sides of the crises in the state,” they said.
The duo criticised Okaba’s continued support for the suspended Gov. Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers, despite what he described as several constitutional breaches allegedly committed by the governor.
They further alleged that Okaba’s backing of Fubara was self-serving, highlighting that he initially supported Tonye Cole against Fubara in the 2023 gubernatorial election.
“It was true Ijaws who stood firm with Wike to ensure Gov. Fubara emerged victorious in the last elections,” they added.
The group officials further urged Okaba to desist from granting press interviews, which he claimed were often used to insult and malign Wike, “whom God used to politically liberate Ijaws people in Rivers.”
“Should he fail to heed this call, RRM will be compelled to explore all legal options to initiate a criminal defamation suit against him,” they warned.
They noted that the RRM, a political interest group loyal to Wike, had worked diligently to ensure the emergence of an Ijaw candidate in 2023 and had remained committed to supporting such candidate.
The duo strongly condemned a recent remark attributed to Okaba, in which he allegedly called for DNA tests to be conducted on all Ijaws who support Wike, to verify their ethnic authenticity.
“What a disgraceful comment to make on national television,” they remarked.
The duo lamented that the INC, which was founded as a formidable and nonpartisan Ijaw organisation with cross-ethnic alliances, was now at risk of becoming a political tool for selfish reasons.
They asserted that the majority of Rivers Ijaws remained loyal to Wike and would continue to support him because of his consistent commitment to the state’s development.
The RRM leaders appealed that in the event Fubara’s impeachment or disqualification from contesting in 2027, another Ijaw candidate should be allowed to complete the two terms of office.
“Replacing Fubara with another Ijaw governor would ensure equity and fairness for the Ijaw people,” they concluded.
Okaba, however, dismissed the allegations as emanating from a group of desperate individuals intent on sowing division among the Ijaw people by aligning with their adversaries to subjugate them.
He urged the public to disregard the accusations, affirming that the Ijaw people remained united under the leadership of the INC.
“These same individuals have even called for me to be placed under security watch, revealing the extent of their desperation to divide the Ijaw people.
“Today, it is Rivers state; tomorrow, it might be another state.
“What the INC is advocating is the upholding of the rule of law and an end to the numerous constitutional breaches,” he stated. Okaba expressed confidence the group would prevail in the end.
