Ijaw group warns against impeachment of Fubara, says it may destabilise Niger Delta

The Ijaw National Congress (INC) has warned against the impeachment of Siminalayi Fubara, governor of Rivers state.

The group also condemned the recent supreme court ruling on the Rivers crisis, saying it could lead to widespread instability in the Niger Delta.

In a statement signed by Benjamin Okaba, its president, the INC 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”. 

BACKGROUND

In a judgment delivered on Friday, a five-member panel of the apex court affirmed the judgment of a federal high court that barred the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the accountant-general of the federation from releasing statutory monthly allocations to Rivers state.

The court also ordered the Martin Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers state house of assembly and other elected members to resume sitting.

The Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers assembly is loyal to Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT) and immediate past governor of the state.

Wike and Fubara have been locked in a rift over control of the political structure of the state.

The apex court also annulled the recent LGA election in Rivers.

‘WE’LL DEFEND FUBARA WITH OUR BLOOD’

Okaba said the judgment failed to acknowledge the historical and political sacrifices made by the Ijaw people in Rivers state.

The INC said the Ijaw people will defend Fubara “with every pint of blood in their veins”.

The statement added that while the INC has worked tirelessly to preserve peace in the Niger Delta, leading to increased oil production and revenue for the nation, the same resources are now being used to marginalise the Ijaw people.

The group asked President Bola Tinubu not to treat the ongoing political crisis in Rivers as “ordinary politicking”.