The Ijaw National Congress (INC) made a plea to the Federal Government on Friday to intervene in the boundary dispute brought on by the Akwa Ibom Government's ongoing effort to modify the boundaries of Ijaw villages in the state.
The group made a request of the Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) to stop the continuing invasion of Eastern Obollo communities by Nigerian Army and Navy forces at the direction of the Akwa Ibom Government.
It urged the CDS to make sure that their operations adhered to the military's code of conduct.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yenagoa, Prof. Benjamin Okaba, President of INC, stated that boundary adjustments and mapping were on the exclusive legislative list and were not the responsibility of the Akwa Ibom Government.
According to him, there have already been instances of preventable intercommunal conflicts caused by Sterling Oil's operations, a company in which the state governor has financial interests.
He said that the conflicts were intended to legitimize the use of harsh force to redraw the boundaries of Ijaw communities, noting that the Federal Government's timely action would head off the problem in its tracks.
According to him, it would be futile to redesign the map and designate the governor's hometown, Onna Local Government, as an oil host community under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
“It beats our imagination that the government of Akwa Ibom will act in breach of the decision of a State High Court which halted the mapping exercise, to go on this unconstitutional and illegal project which is against the economic interests of Ijaws in Akwa Ibom.
“The Ijaw community leaders in the state as recently as last week at a meeting with Gov. Udom Emmanuel made it clear that they would not cede any part of their ancestral land and urged the government to drop the idea.
“The INC, therefore, calls on the Federal Government and the Chief of Defence Staff to step in, call Akwa Ibom Government to order and protect the rights of Ijaw who are minorities in their ancestral lands,” Okaba said.
