Faction rejects Dickson’s, Clark’s executives for IYC

Action follows due process, gov aide insists

The Eric Omare faction of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has rejected the new executives allegedly picked by Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State and Chief Edwin Kiagbodo (E.K.) Clark to run the organisation in a bid to stabilise the beleaguered apex Ijaw youth body.

Both leaders and others, under the auspices of the Chief Joshua Fumudoh-led Ijaw Eminent Persons Committee, had on Wednesday at the Abuja residence of Chief Clark, reportedly sworn in the new helmsmen presided over by Roland Pereotubo.

But in a swift reaction yesterday, Omare said the “pseudo arrangement” had further divided the youths.In a statement he personally signed, Omare alleged that the Dickson’s Committee, instead of reconciling the two factions, had succeeded in causing further division by his recognition of the Okrika faction of the body without any recourse to his group.

He maintained that the decision was premeditated, describing it as the height of injustice.Omare regretted that the elders who were to be peace brokers had constituted themselves into a court by legitimising a faction.

But the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Daniel Iworiso-Martins, had in a statement, maintained that the action followed due process.Omare went on: “It is only a court of law that can pronounce on the legality or otherwise of the two conventions that gave birth to the two executive councils of the IYC.

“We totally reject the reason given for the committee’s decision which held that the Burutu convention was only attended by two former national executive committee members while eight attended the Okrika event.”

The statement faulted the claim, stating: The truth is that only three members of the former national executive council attended the Okrika convention as all the other executive council members had resigned to contest in their purported Okrika elections.

“In the light of the above and considering the very weak reasons offered by the committee in endorsing the purported Okrika convention of the IYC, we completely reject the decision of the Elders Committee and state that the body’s national executive council under my leadership remains the legally recognised.