By Samuel Jones
BAYELSA (SUNDIATA POST)- The Ijaw National Congress (INC) has explained the recent visit by its President, Prof. Benjamin Okaba, to the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) Dr. Dennis Otuaro, in Abuja.
INC also frowned the criticism by a Niger Delta group, the Project Niger Delta, PND, for the visit describing the group’s outburst as unfortunate, malicious and not in the best interest of the Ijaws.
Speaking to newsmen on Sunday in Yenagoa, INC President, Prof. Benjamin Okaba, said contrary to reports that the INC endorsed Otuaro, the visit was not a private visit and neither did the apex Ijaw body endorsed PAP Administrator..
PND had faulted media reports credited to the Special Assistant on Media to the PAP Administrator, Mr. Igoniko Oduma, that the INC President had commended and endorsed Otuaro.
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PND in a statement on Saturday its Executive Director/Coordinator of Project Niger Delta, Comrade Princewill Ebebi, accused Okaba of not informing any of his executive committee members before going ahead to endorse Otuaro.
But, Prof. Okaba told newsmen that the visit to the PAP Administrator in Abuja was not planned, saying it was a visit to an Ijaw brother by his Ijaws brothers and that it had no bearing on a scheduled visit to the PAP Office by the INC executives.
He said rather than trying to cause disaffection among the ethnic nationality, those criticising the visit should see the positives from the meeting as lots of developmental initiatives including the planed visit by the INC executives were discussed.
He said, “In fact I even called the publicity secretary when I was with the amnesty boss. I called him that I’m here with the amnesty boss and even spoke with him, but he now masterminded the thing because he did not follow me
“We cannot keep this low because it is not good for the ijaw image, it’s not also good for the amnesty boss because somebody saying that he is self acclaimed, someone sitting in an office?.
“We didn’t go there to endorse anybody; if there is any contention that is when you want to endorse, so endorsement is way out of it.
“The visit was never planned, the amnesty engagement with the entire exco is still intact and will come up in a short while and the president did not go there to talk about himself and endorsement, there was no endorsement, because there was no need for any endorsement.
“It is mischievous for anyone who is in tune with the operations of the INC to conceive and say that the president and his cohorts endorsed the SA/Coordinator of the PAP as there are no known rivals or contestants to the president and other NEC members since after the appointment of the present occupant of the office.
“Is the grouse and unwarranted attack by this group (PND) and their sponsors premised on the absence of some NEC members or that Dr Otuaro has not been appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu?
Okaba insisted that he went to the PAP office on the invitation of Dr. Otuaro who learnt he was in Abuja on a national assignment and that his visit was not official as claimed in the statement by PND.
He said to show his transparency, he took along some INC members who were already in Abuja and an elder statesman, Prof. Steve Azaiki, on the visit, saying that the impact of the meeting is already having positive signs and trickling down to the INC executives.
He urged members of the public to disregard the PND statement and advised those working against the interest of the Ijaws for their own selfish purposes to stop running down the Ijaw nation.
