Concern has been expressed by stakeholders working under the aegis of the Ijaw Elders and Professionals Forum (IEPF) regarding attempts to con former president Goodluck Jonathan into attending an endorsement gathering in support of Senator Douye Diri, the governor of the Bayelsa State.
The group asserted that it had discovered a scheme to coerce Ijaw leaders from the Niger Delta to attend a meeting with a covert purpose of endorsing Diri’s bid for reelection.
The Ijaw Elders Planning Forum (IEPF) advised Jonathan and other respectable Ijaw leaders to refrain from the conference, claiming that the ongoing plan to hold it was a total endorsement hoax. The statement was signed by IEPF’s National Secretary, Samuel Mpigi James.
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The group said, “We have very credible reports that the Douye Diri-led prosperity administration is attempting to hold what it styles as Ijaw leaders meeting very soon to, on the surface, discuss contemporary issues concerning the Ijaw nation and its future, especially politically.
“The Ijaw Elders and Professionals forum believes that such meetings are healthy even if they occur only sporadically. The concern is the political undertones behind it
“Our very revered and respected Ijaw leaders (including former President Goodluck Jonathan) are to be tricked into a so-called pan-Ijaw meeting only for the organizers, the Chief organiser being Justice Francis F. Tabai, (rtd) to swiftly turn the agenda into a Douye Diri endorsement galore.
“While this is completely disrespectful for the Ijaw leaders and the respected invitees on Justice Tabai and Senator Douye Diri’s list, the IEP feels this undermines and disregards the Ijaw nation as a whole.”
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The IEP stated that its members would be adequately represented to observe the proceedings if the conference were to eventually take place despite controversies as scheduled.
It stated that its members would immediately organise a walkout and issue lengthy public condemnations of such development if during the discussion it veered off Ijaw development and into support of candidates.
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