Posted by By Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa on
The crisis rocking the Ijaw Youth Council, (IYC) has assumed a new twist with two groups laying claim to the leadership of the organization.
One group, led by the former chairman, IYC Central Zone, Mr. Mike Wenibowei and the spokesman of the council, Mr. Peter Ajube, had on December 23 convened a meeting under tight security allegedly provided by men of the Operation Restore Hope at the council secretariat, Okutukutu, Bayelsa State and removed its National President, Mr. Oyeinfie Emmanuel Jonjon and replaced him with the Vice- Chairman of Nembe Local Government Area, Mr.Tekena Beregha.
But the embattled president is fighting back, insisting the meeting was unconstitutionally convened because the secretariat was forcefully broken into and other members of the council barred from deliberations because of the military presence.
Jonjon, who, in a press conference said the attempts to remove him might not be unconnected to his support for former Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha during his travails, exonerated the governor, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan from the plot to remove him, but, pointed fingers at a Port-Harcourt based influential Bayelsan as being the architect of the attempts.
According to him, the conveners of the meeting violated the constitution of IYC, which stated that "only the President or General Secretary has the powers to convene council meeting," stressing that they did not give him the opportunity of fair hearing as they could not tell him allegations of wrongdoing nor allow him to defend himself.
He also explained that his replacement with Mr. Tekena Beregha is null-and-void as he "is disqualified to be President as a serving Vice-Chairman of a local government area" adding that the IYC central did not participate in the proceeding because they knew it is illegal.
Jonjon who expressed readiness to seek redress in court also claimed that property worth 400,000 naira and cash of the same magnitude was looted. He advised that the Police should take quick action on the issue to avoid chaos.
"I want to use this medium to tell the whole world that I still remain the IYC President and anybody parading himself as the IYC President is doing so to cause chaos. The government and security agencies should disregard such people. I have made a report to the police and it is their duty to carry out investigations to bring to book all those involved," he added.
Jonjon similarly admonished security agencies to "recall the state of tension and killings considered as inter-cult groups' feuds when the disputed central zone election was on," adding that "it will not be in the interest of the state if we return to something of that sort or worse."