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IYC Condemns Wike’s Anti-Ijaw Remarks, Demands Apology

Published

4 years ago

January 6, 2022

The leadership of the pan-Ijaw youth group, Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide, has flayed the remarks credited to the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, against the Ijaw nation.

The President of IYC, Peter Timothy Igbifa, in a statement, issued to DAILY POST on Thursday from Port Harcourt, said it was sad that Wike, while making his speech during the Ogoni Day celebration, remarked that the Ijaw were behaving as if they owned the Niger Delta.

“We don’t know where he got his impressions from. But whatever he said does not represent our noble ethnic group. Ijaws died in the 2015 elections that saw the emergence of Nyesom Wike as the Chief Executive Officer of Rivers State”, the IYC boss said.

Igbifa wondered what the Ijaw Nation had done to Wike to warrant such public outbursts against the ethnic group that had supported his administration from inception.

He recalled that an Ijaw man and former President Goodluck Jonathan; an Ijaw woman and former First Lady Patience Jonathan, alongside other Ijaw leaders picked Wike and made him the governor of Rivers against all other Ijaw aspirants including the ones they promised tickets.

He said: “We are disappointed that Wike could stand on a public rostrum and throw tantrums at the Ijaw nation. His remarks were, to say the least, unfortunate.

“The Rivers Governor should have exercised restraints in his public utterances despite his misgivings against the Ijaw as a mark of respect for former President Goodluck Jonathan, his wife, Patience and other Ijaw leaders, who railroaded him into the governorship seat of Rivers State.

“It was by virtue of these leaders that Wike first became a Minister and then a governor of Rivers State. His comment is an insult against these leaders and an ungrateful demonstration that he didn’t value the roles they played in his life”.

Igbifa described as wrong Wike’s claims that the Ijaws were behaving as if they owned the Niger Delta following the way some Ijaw persons expressed themselves in public.

But he said: “The governor has boasted time without the number of the powers of Obio/Akpor in the making of the governor of Rivers State making many people view him as arrogant. But is Wike truly arrogant? No, but he is vocal and this is exactly how he should view the Ijaw people.

“Does that also mean that Ikwerre is claiming ownership of Rivers State? No? We are calling on the governor to change his perception about Ijaw people because we are known for our hospitality anywhere we find ourselves.

“It is wrong for a governor who has always carried himself as a democrat to make such negative remarks against a patriotic nation agitating for the common good of the entire Niger Delta.

“It is the constitutional right of all citizens despite their location to hold peaceful demonstration unless Wike is saying that the constitution has barred the Ijaws from holding protests in Rivers State.”

Igbifa added: “We want to remind Wike that though the Ijaws have never said they owned the Niger Delta, we remain grateful to other ethnic groups that joined in making the Niger Delta region outstanding. The vocal voice, contributions and agitations alongside our Ogoni, Ikwerre, Urhobo and Itsekiri brothers have been the reason why the Niger Delta has received global attention.

“These efforts are the main reasons for the creation of the NDDC, Niger Delta Ministry and the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) which have renegotiated the fortunes of the Niger Delta.

“Our contributions in the Niger Delta cannot be downplayed or wished away through the reckless utterances of any leader. We deserve respect from the likes of Wike whose kernel was cracked by benevolent spirits using Ijaw people hence, His Excellency should be humble.

“The governor should remember that God made it possible for him and if God says Ijaw will be the next in line, His will, will Prevail. Your assertion is contrary to my new year message to Ijaw politicians as I called on them to consult with other ethnic groups in Rivers and Delta with effective grassroot mobilization as politics has gone beyond the ethnic divide. Why will I give such counsel to our politicians if we claim to own Niger Delta?

“The Rivers State Governor owes us an apology for his unwarranted and unprovoked attack against the Ijaw nation. His remarks were to say the least provocative and insensitive”.

Headline

Africa Coups: 10 In Five Years

Published

23 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Editor

A military coup attempt in Benin Sunday adds to a list of such incidents on the turbulent African continent.
A group of soldiers announced that they had ousted President Patrice Talon, although his entourage said he was safe and the army was regaining control.

Here is a recap of the 10 successful coups in Africa in the last five years:

Mali

Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita is overthrown by five army colonels in August 2020.

In May 2021, the Malian military takes over from the civilian leaders of an interim government.
Colonel Assimi Goita, who led both coups, is sworn in as transitional president.

After promising to hold elections in February 2024, the military puts them off indefinitely, pointing to the jihadist violence plaguing the country.

In July 2025, Goita approves a law granting himself a five-year presidential mandate, renewable without election.
In September jihadists launch a fuel blockade, weakening the ruling junta.

Guinea

On September 5, 2021, mutinous troops led by lieutenant-colonel Mamady Doumbouya take over in Guinea, arresting President Alpha Conde.

Doumbouya in early November 2025 submits his candidacy ahead of December 28 elections that are meant to restore constitutional order.

Sudan

After weeks of tension between the military and civilian leaders who had shared power since the ousting of dictator Omar al-Bashir, the armed forces led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan stage a new coup on October 25, 2021.

Since April 2023 war has raged between the regular armed forces led by Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by his former deputy Mohammed Hamdan Daglo.

The conflict has so far killed tens of thousands of people and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso underwent two military coups in 2022.

In January that year mutinous soldiers led by Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba arrest President Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

Then in September army officers announce they have dismissed Damiba. Captain Ibrahim Traore becomes transitional president, but elections he promised do not materialise. In May 2024 the junta authorises him to stay for another five years in a country wracked by Islamist violence.

Niger

On July 26, 2023, members of the presidential guard overthrow Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum, elected in 2021. General Abdourahamane Tiani, head of the presidential guard, takes over.

In March 2025, the junta extends by at least five years its transitional leadership of the country which is plagued by jihadist violence.

Gabon

In Gabon, ruled for 55 years by the Bongo family, army officers on August 30, 2023 overthrow President Ali Bongo Ondimba, less than an hour after he is declared winner of an election the opposition says was fraudulent.
General Brice Oligui Nguema is named transitional president.

In April 2025 he is elected president with 94.85 percent of the vote. He is sworn in on the basis of a new constitution approved by referendum during the transition.

Madagascar

In October 2025, the military ousts Madagascar’s president Andry Rajoelina and takes power following weeks of “Gen Z” anti-government protests.

Army colonel Michael Randrianirina is sworn in as Madagascar’s new president, promising elections within 18 to 24 months.

Guinea-Bissau

In November 2025, military officers in Guinea-Bissau declare they have “total control” of the coup-prone west African country, closing its borders and suspending its electoral process three days after general elections.

The military says a command “composed of all branches of the armed forces” is taking over the leadership of the country “until further notice”.

Headline

Benin Republic Presidency Breaks Silence On ‘Military Takeover’

Published

1 day ago

December 7, 2025

Editor

Benin Republic military
Military personnel in Benin on Sunday said they had ousted President Patrice Talon, but the Presidency said he was safe and the army was regaining control.

Talon, 67, a former businessman known as the “cotton king of Cotonou,” is due to hand over power in April next year after 10 years in office marked by strong economic growth and rising jihadist violence.

West Africa has seen several coups in recent years, including in Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, and most recently Guinea-Bissau.

Early on Sunday, soldiers calling themselves the “Military Committee for Refoundation” (CMR) said on state television that they had met and decided that “Mr Patrice Talon is removed from office as president of the republic.”

The signal was cut later in the morning.

Shortly after the announcement, a source close to Talon told AFP the president was safe.

“This is a small group of people who only control the television. The regular army is regaining control. The city (Cotonou) and the country are completely secure,” they said.

“It’s just a matter of time before everything returns to normal. The clean-up is progressing well.”

A military source confirmed the situation was “under control” and said the coup plotters had not taken Talon’s residence or the presidential offices.

The French Embassy reported on X that “gunfire was reported at Camp Guezo” near the president’s official residence in the economic capital and urged French citizens to remain indoors.

Benin has a history of coups and attempted coups.

Talon, who came to power in 2016, is due to end his second term in 2026, the constitutional maximum.

The main opposition party has been excluded from the race to succeed him, leaving the ruling party to compete against a so-called “moderate” opposition.

Talon has been praised for driving economic development but is often accused of authoritarianism.

(AFP)

Headline

JUST IN: Soldiers Announce Military Takeover Of Govt In Benin Republic

Published

1 day ago

December 7, 2025

Editor

A group of soldiers appeared on Benin’s state television on Sunday to announce the dissolution of the government in what is being described as an apparent coup, marking yet another power seizure in West Africa.

Identifying themselves as the Military Committee for Refoundation, the soldiers declared the removal of the president and all state institutions.

President Patrice Talon, who has been in office since 2016, was scheduled to leave office next April after the presidential election. His party’s preferred candidate, former Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, had been widely viewed as the frontrunner. Opposition candidate Renaud Agbodjo was disqualified by the electoral commission on the grounds that he did not have “sufficient sponsors.”

The takeover comes a month after Benin’s legislature extended the presidential term from five to seven years while retaining the two-term limit.

(AFP)