EDO IJAWS ACCUSE STATE GOVT OF MARGINALISATION, DEMAND THREE DEVELOPMENT CENTRES
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By ‘Balogun Ibrahim
The five Ijaw kingdoms in Edo State—Egbema, Olodiama, Okomu, Gbaran and Furupagha—have accused the state government of working with the Palace of the Oba of Benin to marginalise their communities.
The kingdoms made the allegation on Friday during a World Press Conference in Gelegele, Ovia North-East Local Government Area, where they demanded the creation of three Local Government Development Centres for Ijaw communities and the immediate recognition of their five traditional rulers.
The President of Ijaw in Edo State, Chief Robinson Ogunkoruwei, who read the statement on behalf of 11 other signatories, alleged that Ijaw communities in the state had faced decades of marginalisation and had been treated as “second-class citizens” in their ancestral lands.
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He said the Ijaw population, which is spread across more than 500 communities in Ovia South-West, Ovia North-East and Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Areas, had allegedly been divided in a manner that weakened their collective political influence.
According to him, there had also been attempts to rename or annex some Ijaw communities.
The leaders maintained that the Ijaw were indigenous to the territories they occupy and predated the Benin Kingdom. They cited historical accounts by Chief Dr Jacob Egharevba and other historians, as well as colonial-era institutions, including Ikoro Baptist Church, established in 1887; Gbelebu Primary School, established in 1904; and native courts established in the 1920s.
They also recalled an incident in 1988 when the then Oba of Benin, Oba Erediauwa, reportedly attempted to appoint his brother, Prince Uyiekpen Akenzua, as Enogie over riverine Ijaw communities.
The leaders said the move was strongly resisted and was eventually resolved by the then Military Administrator of Bendel State, Col. Tunde Ogbeha.
The five kingdoms also referred to a Supreme Court judgment in Suit No. SC 131/1982 involving a farmland dispute between Gelegelegbene, an Ijaw community, and Ughoton, a Bini community. They argued that the case concerned individuals and did not determine communal ownership between the two ethnic groups.
They further cited recent publications and motions at the state and National Assembly levels, including those associated with Hon. Omose Igbinedion, Hon. Murphy Osaro Omoruyi, Hon. Esosa Iyawe and Hon. Billy Osawaru, which they described as part of renewed efforts to undermine the Ijaw agitation.
Among their demands, the leaders called on the Edo State Government to establish three Local Government Development Centres for Ijaw communities.
They also demanded the immediate recognition of the traditional rulers of Egbema, Olodiama, Okomu, Furupagha and Gbaran kingdoms and the presentation of Staff of Office to them.
Alternatively, they called for Ijaw communities in Edo State to be permitted to join their kinsmen in neighbouring Delta and Ondo states to facilitate greater integration and development.
The leaders based their demands partly on the 1988–1989 Constituent Assembly Report, which they said recommended the creation of Toru-Ibe Local Government Area for Ijaw communities in the then Ovia Local Government Area. They also referenced provisions of the 1999 Constitution relating to federal character and self-determination.
They warned that failure to address the issues could heighten inter-ethnic tensions, while citing a recent statement by the Amanyanabo of Elem Kalabari, Alhaji Asari Dokubo, which they said highlighted the alleged deprivation of Edo Ijaw communities.
The leaders said the Edo State Government was “aligning with the Palace of the Oba of Benin to marginalize us and balkanize our kingdom,” adding that Ijaw people in the state had been treated as “second-class citizens” in their ancestral lands for decades.
Responding, Edo State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Kassim Afegbua, said Gelegele and other Ijaw communities were integral parts of Edo State, adding that the government was committed to promoting unity and integration.
Afegbua urged the communities to remain calm and engage the government constructively, stressing that peaceful coexistence was essential to the development of the state.
He said the government was engaging with residents from Gelegele and other Ijaw communities and remained committed to collective engagement and solidarity.
“We are promoting unity and integration rather than division. We are one and we cannot be looking for ‘war’ where there is none. We need everybody on board to rebuild a new Edo for all,” he said.
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