This is not the best of times for the Ijaw nation, arguably the fourth largest ethnic group in Nigeria.
Over the years, the people are noted for their historic compact leadership structure and speaking forcefully in one voice through their sociocultural organizations -Ijaw National Congress (INC) and the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC)
The people live a life that is defined by persistent struggle to assert their rights, often threatened by both the Federal Government and the multinational oil companies in their quest to extract resources embedded beneath their ecosystem.
And because the people already know that they are dealing with somewhat conscienceless people represented by officials of the government and the multinationals, they are often careful in choosing who to lead them who invariably becomes their mouthpiece in defending and protecting their collective interest.
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So whenever the process of choosing that person who in their view fits the bill to lead them becomes suspect, there is bound to be some recrimination and crisis.
That is what appears to be playing out as the people begin search for a successor to the outgoing president of INC, Professor Benjamin Okaba.
The election is slated for March 7, 2026, but cloud of uncertainty is hovering menacingly against that date over allegations of flawed electoral process. The Eleco led by a retired Supreme Court jurist is in the eye of a storm over allegations of favouritism for some aspirants and bias against some others.
The sore point as gathered is the disqualification of some aspirants over alleged constitutional infractions. However, some who are very conversant with the INC constitution say those disqualified did not violate any aspect of body’s constitution.
They argue that the clause upon which the Eleco hinges their disqualification had not been ratified by a well constituted convention of the INC,hence the disqualification does not hold water.
There are strident calls in some quarters that the Eleco should be dissolved and a new one put in place and election subsequently postponed so that the new umpire will have enough time to do a better job.
Those who are floating the view posit that if the Ijaw nation proceeds to the election with the current disquiet in the land occasioned by the issues thrown up by the election the outcome will haunt Ijaw nation for many years.
The Movement for the Survival of the Izon Ethnic Nationality in the Niger Delta (MOSIEND) is clearly in sync with the foregoing argument.
In a statement signed by the National President of the organization, Dr Kennedy Tonjo-West, the group raised alarm over what it described as selective disqualification of some candidates in the 2026 Ijaw National Congress elections.
It urged Ijaw stakeholders to salvage the INC from impending doom over unfair disqualification of credible candidates in the election slated for March 7.
“MOSIEND hereby alerts the entire Ijaw nation to the grave and unfolding danger posed by the manipulation of the 2026 Ijaw National Congress (INC) electoral process.
“What is currently presented as an election is, in substance, a carefully orchestrated exercise capable of undermining the very foundation upon which the INC was established. The integrity of the institution is at stake”, the statement read in part.
MOSIEND specifically frowned at the disqualification of respected and widely accepted frontline candidates—particularly Elder T. K. Ogoriba, saying it exposes what many now regard as a predetermined attempt to impose weak leadership on the Ijaw nation through technical contrivances rather than democratic choice.
“The justification advanced for this exclusion, including the alleged one-year membership requirement, is legally questionable, morally indefensible, and politically provocative. A constitution that has not been duly ratified by a properly constituted National Congress lacks both the moral and legal authority to determine eligibility. To deploy such an instrument selectively against credible contenders is to weaponize procedure against democracy.
“The Ijaw nation is too historically grounded and politically conscious to be misled by procedural technicalities designed to achieve predetermined outcomes. Elder Ogoriba represents a generation of patriots whose sacrifices predate the institutionalization of the INC. To exclude such a figure is an attempt to rewrite the history of the Ijaw struggle and sever the organization from its ideological roots.
“This development reinforces growing fears that a narrow circle of entrenched interests has reduced the INC to a closed establishment where leadership is rotated among familiar actors through questionable arrangements. No institution survives when its processes are perceived as manipulated and its credibility is compromised”, MOSIEND pushed.
The group expressed worry over the “troubling” silence of key stakeholders, including governors of Ijaw states and the outgoing INC President, Benjamin Okaba. stressing that the moral authority expected at this defining moment must not be absent.
” We reckon that if this flawed process proceeds unchecked, the consequences will be severe and enduring, as the INC remains the most important unifying institution of the Ijaw people. Any process that erodes public confidence is a direct threat to the collective future of the Ijaw nation. Our unity as a people cannot survive institutional injustice”
MOSIEND therefore called for immediate dissolution of the INC Electoral Committee and immediate postponement of the election
It also urged convening of an emergency national stakeholders engagement to determine the legal validity of the 2019 Constitution and establish a broadly acceptable electoral framework in addition to appointing a neutral and credible Electoral Committee.
