By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

ABUJA– IJAW women from Nigeria and the diaspora have rejected the Ijaw National Congress (INC) executive elections on April 13, 2026, and INC President Benjamin Okaba’s immediate formation of an ad-hoc mediation committee, calling it an “institutional camouflage” without constitutional basis.

The women under the aegis of Ijaw Women of Conscience, led by Timiebi Koripamo-Agary of the Ijaw Women’s Rights Group, condemned what they described as the “deliberate ambiguity” around the committee’s legitimacy, aggrieved parties, and authority under INC rules.

They insisted that disputes must go to the constitutional CITRE body, not an ad hoc panel launched the same day as the disputed polls.

The women in a statement on Thursday, said: “A committee without defined parties, without stated disputes, and without legal foundation is not conflict resolution.”

The INC had announced a 7-man committee chaired by AIG Julius Alawari Okoro (retd.), with HRH Iraron Ede Obolo as vice chairman, Elder Regent Youmor, Chief Mrs. Florence Ajih, Alabo Roberts Fubara Reginald, Barr. Bomo Tons Fetepigi Obhe, and Prof. Bodisere Juliet Teibowei as secretary.

The committee’s is to engage aggrieved parties for amicable resolution and calls for calm.

But the women called it a breach of due process and constitutional order, warning of “emerging patterns of influence” by non-institutional actors.

“Historical relevance is not a substitute for constitutional legitimacy. Past visibility does not confer present authority,” they stated. “The patience of the Ijaw people, especially its women, is not infinite.”

Koripamo-Agary said: “We will defend our institutions. We will defend due process. We will defend the integrity of the Ijaw Nation. No individual, no matter their past or perceived influence, is greater than the collective will of the people.”

They demanded accountability, INC Constitution adherence, and correction of illegitimate processes.

They called on Ijaw women “to rise for justice, for order, for the integrity of our nation. We will not retreat. We will not surrender. Asawana Wana!”