By Gabriel Enogholase
BENIN—IJAW youths of Edo State,  have appealed to Governor Adams Oshiomhole to address the imbalance and injustice being metted out to them by their neighbours, the Bini, in the sharing of political offices in Ovia-South West and Ovia North East Local Government Areas of the state.

They also  want the Governor, to call to order, the leadership of his party, the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, who were using his name for political motives.

The youths, who were in  the Benin Zonal Office of the Vanguard newspapers and led by the Vice- Chairman, Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, Edo, Delta and Ondo States, Mr. Andrew Igiri, said the appeal to the Governor became necessary, as the Ijaw in the two councils were being discriminated against in the party  primaries for the forth coming elections.

According to Igiri, “in Ovia South-West Local Government Area, for instance, the Bini and the Ijaw have their separate wards, but the Ijaw are being denied of elective positions, except for councillors and supervisory councillors. We are saying that enough is enough. Our people should be allowed to contest for any position of their choice and they should not impose their leadership on us.

“We are appealing to  Oshiomhole to use his good office to address this imbalance and injustice being done to the Ijaw people. We are ready to work with him on his vision and mission for the Edo people,” the youths said.

Commenting on the recent recruitments of youths by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Ijaw youth leader accused the Edo state arm of the commission of totally neglecting the Ijaws of the state, saying that “whenever there are problem involving oil producing communities and the military, we are made to bear the consequences”.

“The aim of establishing the NDDC by the federal government is to ensure the development of oil producing communities and states. But here in Edo State, NDDC has turned to Niger Delta Individual Development Commission.

There is no single project of the NDDC in Ijaw area of Edo state and of the 120 youths recently employed by the Commission, there was no single Ijaw among them”.

He also carpeted the Niger Delta Ministry for doing nothing to solve the problem of the Niger Delta region.