Ahead of the leadership elections of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), a coalition of Ijaw interest groups has called on the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the INC to ensure wider participation of Ijaws in choosing their leaders by giving enough notice and opportunity to all eligible and interested persons to participate in the leadership selection process.
The group noted that the two weeks notice given to mobilize the Ijaw nation for the community, clan and chapter elections of the INC is not enough.
It therefore called on the NEC of the Ijaw umbrella body to reschedule the timetable for the elections to create room and accommodate wider participation of persons of Ijaw extraction in the process.
The admonition was contained in a letter addressed to the INC and signed by Efiye Bribena, Secretary, Ijaw Elders Forum (IEF), Lagos, Mr. Ben Amaebi Okoro, Moderator, Ijaw Nation Forum (INF), Chief Amagbe D. Kentebe, BOT Chairman, Embasara Foundation
The letter was also signed by Mr. Pattison Boleigha, President, Ijaw Professionals Association (IPA) Lagos, Ms. Annkio Briggs, BOT Chairperson, Ijaw Women Connect (IWC), Hon. Iniruo Wills, President, Homeland Chapter Ijaw Professionals Association (IPA), and Professor (Amb.) Mondy Selle Gold, President, Ijaw Diaspora Council (IDC)
The letter partly reads: “The Coalition of Ijaw Interest Groups wishes to acknowledge the commendable initiative of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of Ijaw National Congress (INC) for activating the process of holding elections at the Community, Clan and Chapters.
“This is a step in the right direction that will strengthen the organisation at all levels. We appreciate NEC for this laudable development.
“We wish to urge the NEC of INC to improve the leadership selection process in Ijaw Nation starting with the ongoing process of election into Communities, Clans and Chapters EXCOs.
“We call on NEC to seize this opportunity to mobilize wider participation of Ijaw people in choosing their leaders and be involved in the affairs of their umbrella body, INC. INC is not a closed body and should be open to all persons of Ijaw ethnic nationality.
“Therefore, enough notice and opportunity should be given to all eligible Ijaw persons interested to participate in the leadership selection
process.
“A transparent and credible election process is the panacea for good leadership in Ijaw Nation. A notice of less than two weeks is too short to mobilize the entire Ijaw Nation for Community, Clan and Chapter elections.
“We therefore call on NEC to reschedule the timetable for the elections to create room and accommodate wider participation of persons of Ijaw extraction in the process.”
The coalition described the publicity and dissemination of information to the wider Ijaw nation in respect of the elections as inadequate.
“There should be the widest reasonable circulation of information through all channels of communication to get as many Ijaws as possible to participate in the process,” it suggested.
The coalition therefore called on “NEC as part of the sensitization process to work with credible Ijaw platforms, including the Ijaw Nation Forum (INF), to hold a virtual town hall meeting open to all Ijaws to participate.
“This is without prejudice to the expediency of holding physical/virtual town hall meetings at Community, Clan and Chapter levels.”
The group equally called the INC to adopt a more transparent and credible process of compilation of membership and voters register.
“As a minimum safeguard for transparency and credibility in this day and age, a secure membership and voters register should be published online and otherwise for all Ijaws to easily access before elections are held.”
The Ijaw interest groups further appealed to the INC executives to urgently address the concerns raised in the letter.
