{"id":21719,"date":"2019-03-07T07:36:03","date_gmt":"2019-03-07T07:36:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=21719"},"modified":"2019-03-07T07:36:03","modified_gmt":"2019-03-07T07:36:03","slug":"guber-polls-ijaw-youths-alarmed-over-army-in-niger-delta-as-clark-urges-fg-to-obey-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=21719","title":{"rendered":"Guber Polls: Ijaw Youths Alarmed Over Army in Niger Delta, as Clark Urges FG to Obey Law"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><code><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- www.newsroom247.com.ng --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-2163942495525027\" data-ad-slot=\"1411897411\" data-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/code><\/p>\n<p>The Ijaw Youth Council has raised the alarm that there were plots to turn the now peaceful Niger Delta region into a theatre of war ahead of Saturday\u2019s Governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections in the region.<\/p>\n<p>The umbrella body for Ijaw youths worldwide, particularly warned politicians in the region not to throw the states of Delta, Rivers, Akwa-Ibom and Cross River into chaos because of the elections.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement on Wednesday, IYC President, Mr Eric Omare, said feelers reaching the group indicated that tension was high in the various states where the governorship election would be taking place in the region as a result of counter accusation by the two dominant political parties \u2013 the PDP and the APC.<\/p>\n<p>Omare warned that the IYC would not tolerate a situation where the region which has had its fair share of violence in the years of militancy would be thrown into crisis by politicians.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cThe Ijaw Youth Council worldwide warned political actors and security agencies from turning Niger Delta states into a war zone ahead of the Governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections on Saturday, March 9, 2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cWe have strong concerns that there may be outbreak of violence if the major players do not apply caution in their quest for power.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0\u201cIn order to nip this rising tension in the bud, we call on security agencies and the Independent National Electoral Commission, most especially, to be transparent in the conduct of the elections.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe security agencies must see themselves as officers and servants of the Federal Republic of Nigeria rather than of any of the political parties or actors. In all the instances of violence recorded in the Presidential and National Assembly elections, the infamous role played by security agencies contributed greatly to the crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The statement called on the Inspector General of Police and the Chief of Defence Staff to direct their men to be professional and arrest the situation before snowballing to major calamity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTherefore, we call on the Chief of Defence Staff and the Inspector General of Police to call on officers to strictly comply with the rules of engagement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlso, political players in the Niger Delta region, especially Ijaw land must realise that attaining power is not a do or die affair. In the same vein, youths of the Niger Delta must not allow themselves to be used as instruments of violence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elder\u00a0political leader and former Federal Commissioner for Information, Chief Edwin Clark, called on the Federal Government to obey the law and pull out the Army from the Niger Delta states in Saturday\u2019s Governorship and House of Assembly polls to forestall further hostilities and unnecessary killings in the region.<\/p>\n<p>Chief Edwin Clark Clark, who is also the Leader, Delta Elders Forum, in a press conference at his Kiagbodo country home in Delta state, enjoined Deltans to re-elect Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, who is the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate because he has performed well.<\/p>\n<p>His words; \u201cThe Presidential election has come and gone and February 28 deadline for the military Operation Python Dance has elapsed. I, therefore, strongly advise that the Army be withdrawn, to forestall further hostilities and unnecessary killings in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said, \u201cIt is on record that the Army in January gave the impression that\u00a0Operation Python Dance\u00a0would last between January and February 28, 2019. I am informed that the purpose of this military operation is for the security of the area, particularly in the South-South and South-East and that it has nothing to do with the elections.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cBy what I have seen, as earlier suspected, the military was more involved in the conduct of the just concluded Presidential and National Assembly elections than even the police. My concern mostly in the South-South and South-East is ridiculous.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><code><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alternativeadvert.com\/show.php?z=30&amp;pl=18148&amp;ad_type=81&amp;rl=1800\" width=\"336\" height=\"280\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/code><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cIt is now clear to us that the involvement of the army was purposeful- to intimidate and prevent South-South and South-East voters from exercising their franchise and to aid and abet the manipulation of votes to favour the incumbent and to determine the general voting pattern in the country,\u201d he said.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> \u201cThe Federal Government need to be reminded that deployment of the military on election duties is an aberration and same as has been pronounced upon and consequently laid to rest in the Court of Appeal in the case of All Progressives Congress v Peoples Democratic Party and Ors. CA\/EK\/EPT\/GOV\/1\/2015 delivered on Monday, 16th\u00a0day of February 2015,\u201d the elder statesman added<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Regarding the governorship contest in Delta state, he stated, \u201cI am appealing to all Deltans, politicians and contestants of political offices in Delta state to distance themselves from anything that will cause bloodletting in the state. \u201c<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDelta State under His Excellency, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa is peaceful and the government is performing. I have had cause to address an open letter to all Deltans, in my New Year Message, on the need to support Governor Okowa for his second term bid because of his satisfactory performance and the need for equity in Delta state.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe governorship election of Saturday, March 9 2019, is not about Governor Okowa, as a person, but it is about the unity of the state, the need to sustain equity and justice so that every senatorial district can have a sense of belonging in peace, political relevance and economic prosperity. This unity is in each senatorial zone is having a taste of the governorship of the state to foster understanding and goodwill that translate to economic and political stability.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis Saturday, March 9, 2019, Deltans irrespective of ethnic nationality will decide who the governor of Delta state becomes. We should collectively vote for Okowa to have a second term because not doing so is entrenching injustice, discrimination and promoting primordial sentiment that has held the state backwards. In all my years I have consistently fought against injustice and discrimination, during the Nigerian civil war I was one of the leaders who stood for the unity of Nigeria and I demonstrated that the Igbos are part of Nigeria,\u201d he asserted.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- www.newsroom247.com.ng --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-2163942495525027\" data-ad-slot=\"1411897411\" data-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Ijaw Youth Council has raised the alarm that there were plots to turn the now peaceful Niger Delta region into a theatre of war ahead of Saturday\u2019s Governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections in the region. The umbrella body for Ijaw youths worldwide, particularly warned politicians in the region not to throw the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":17666,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[296,1555,1265,201],"class_list":["post-21719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","tag-eric-omare","tag-ifeanyi-okowa","tag-ijaw-youth-council","tag-niger-delta"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/niger-delta-map-300x218.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4oswh-5Ej","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21719"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21719\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21720,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21719\/revisions\/21720"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}