By John Ovie
As the Izon Nation gears towards electing new national executive members to run the affairs of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), there is looming crisis over the disqualification of some of the aspirants.
TNN learnt that in the final list of candidates that was released by the National Electoral Committee Chairman , Justice Francis on Saturday, some of the frontline contestants including Elder Timi Ogoriba were missing, thereby causing animosity.
There are allegations against the outgoing President of the INC, Prof. Benjamin Okaba that he has candidates of his interest that he is bent on delivering at all cost.
There are also strong indications that the INC election slated for this Saturday at the Ijaw national headquarters in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State may not hold as aggrieved disqualified aspirants are reportedly plotting to halt the process through lawful means.
One of the disqualified aspirants vying for the position of national publicity secretary, Mr. Wisdom Ikuli in a telephone call with our correspondent accused Prof. Okaba of creating avoidable crisis in the Ijaw national by planning to superimpose candidates on the fourth largest ethnic nationality in Nigeria.
Ikuli posited that the clause of non participation in INC activities which was the basis for their disqualification did not hold proof.
“What is just happening is a confirmation of the rumour that we heard from the beginning about what the present ELECO were sent to do. In the first place, how was the ELECO formed? They were all nominated by members of the present national executive led by Prof. Benjamin Ogele Okaba and that is not the tradition of the Ijaw people.
“Under normal circumstances, it is the zones and clans that are supposed to gather and nominate representatives in the ELECO so that the electoral empire will be unbiased. So you can see they were already biased from the beginning.
“We got the information from the beginning that the ELECO are under instructions to deliver some candidates and the ELECO never hid their bias.
“Form for the office of the president was sold for one million Naira, form for the vice president was sold for seven hundred and fifty thousand naira and forms for other positions were sold for five hundred thousand Naira.
“Moving forward, they talked about participation or membership, in the INC constitution, once you have registered, you are eligible to vote and and voted for. They never gave a time frame that you must stay for twenty years after registration before you become eligible to contest.
“The second one is participation. How do you measure participation? When INC has event you attend -at the clan, zonal or national level. With that you are participating in INC activities. All the aspirants that were disqualified are persons that have met all these criteria.
“Out of the nine aspirants or there about that were disqualified, seven of us are from Elder T.K. Ogoriba’s slate, Ikuli argued.
Ikuli also contended that it was the INC President that allegedly brought the electronic voting consultant and introduced him to the ELECO, raising concerns that the process had been compromised.
On the way forward, the Ogbia born social activist, called on the governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri who is the governor general of the Ijaw nation to intervene to avoid plunging the Ijaw ethnicity into crisis.
“We have lost confidence in the ELECO. Ijaw nation, our leaders should rise and where necessary, they should set up a new ELECO. The Saturday election should be gifted to give room for the settlement of these anomalies.
“We vehemently oppose to the porported disqualification of any aspirants. We will not allow them to factionalize the INC the way they did to the Ijaw Youth Council, he added.
Responding to the allegations, the INC Chairman, Prof. Okaba in a telephone conversation with TNN, said the ELECO acted within the ambit of the INC extant laws.
Quoting from the INC constitution, Okaba said “for one to qualify for elective position, he must be a participating member of congress for at least twelve calendar months before election.”
He called on aggrieved aspirants to seek redress in a competent court of law.
