By Austin Ogwuda
The Ijaw leaders and members of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State have appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to consider them for Federal appointments, noting that they have been neglected and relegated in the scheme of things.
Addressing a press conference Thursday in Warri, Delta State, attended by Leaders, Local Government Executives, youth and women representatives, the aggrieved Ijaw APC faithful lamented that from 2015 till date, nobody from Ijaw APC got a single federal government.
Sir. Theodore Ezonfade, former State Financial Secretary of APC, who read an open letter to President Tinubu, said the press conference, was to draw the attention of President Tinubu to the plight and frustration of Delta State Ijaw members in APC.
It reads:
” Your Excellency, we wish to draw your attention through this open letter to the plight of the Ijaws of Delta State APC from the inception of the Party in 2014 till date.
“It is on record, that no APC member of Ijaw extraction from the Ijaw Local Government Areas of Burutu, Bomadi, Patani, Warri South, Warri South West and Warri North of Delta State has benefited or was given any Federal Appointment throughout the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari from 2015 to 2023.
” No doubt, as the Ijaws of Delta State, we have made tremendous improvements in the 2015 and the 2023 General Elections.
“Your Excellency, we also want to inform you that prior to the just concluded February 25th 2023 Presidential election, we the Ijaws in APC fully supported and participated actively in all your campaigns and massively mobilized voters for our Party in all the Elections. we took the “Renewed Hope Agenda” to every nook and cranny in the Ijawland of Delta State”.
They expressed absolute confidence in President Tinubu administration’s ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ to provide the desired development and seek justice, fairness, equality and equity to all constituencies and peoples of APC in Delta State.
“Our utmost desire is to strengthen the Party in our State by bringing the dividends of democracy to our areas. This open letter is to draw your attention and to enable you address these anomalies in the interest of our people in Delta State.”
“We are appealing to President Tinubu to appoint Ijaws of APC in Delta State as Chairmen, Directors General, Coordinators, Managing Directors and Board Members of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Niger Delta Basin Development Authority NDBDA, Presidential Amnesty Programme PAP, Federal Roads Maintenance Agency FERMA, National Inland Waterways Authority NIWA, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited NLNG, NNPC Nigerian National petroleum Company and National Local Content Board.
“Mr. President, once again, we do solemnly express our sincere congratulations to you on your victory at the February 25th, 2023, Presidential election and your successful inauguration on May 29th, 2023, as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“We equally congratulate you on the successful inauguration of the National Assembly and the appointment of Ministers and subsequent inauguration of the Federal Executive Council, who have already started implementing your ” Renewed Hope Agenda” for Nigeria.
“Again, Mr President, we also want to bring to your attention another neglect with the recent happenings from the National Secretariat of our Party as to the appointments into the Bayelsa State APC Campaign Council.
You are fully aware that Bayelsa is a homogenous Ijaw State and our territories and language are contiguous. That no Ijaw person from Delta State made the list is a grievous mistake taken too far.
“We appeal to you to correct this anomaly immediately so that our people can make their own contributions to the success of our Party in the Region”, they submitted.