By Emem Idio

YENAGOA—IJAW youths have condemned what they described as “the oppression and marginalisation” of the people of Okomu Kingdom, an Ijaw community, in Ovia South-West Local Government Area of Edo State by the state government, through alleged attempts to deny them of their ancestral rights and ownership of Okomuland.

A statement, yesterday, by the spokesman of the Ijaw Youths Council, IYC, Worldwide, Daniel Dasimaka, said as host community to the Okomu Oil and Rubber Plc, they have been denied their rights and had suffered discriminatory employment policy allegedly orchestrated by the state government.

Dasimaka said: “It is quiet appalling and most shameful that the Edo State Government is attempting to deny Ijaw of their ancestral rights and ownership of Okomuland because of the government’s lust for royalties accruing from the resources in Ijaw territories.

“Some of the oppressive moves by the state government designed to deny the Okomu people their rights include their denial of a permanent seat on the Board of Directors of Okomu Oil and Rubber Plc, the discriminatory employment policy against indigenes of Okomu in the last 40 years and the refusal of Osse Rubber Company, located in their land, to visit their host community because of pressure from the Edo government on the firm to recognise Udo, a neighbouring Benin settlement.”