The Isoko Monitoring Group, (IMG) has called on Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa to relocate his office as governor temporarily to Isoko land and fashion out means of putting an end to the inter communal clashes and bloodletting engulfing some Isoko communities.
The group Publicity Secretary, Dr. Kingsley Oroh in a statement signed and addressed to the Delta State Governor described Gov Okowa silence over the continued lost of lives as worrisome.
According to Dr. Oroh in the statement, “We are compelled to express our disappointment and dissatisfaction over your insouciant or better put, e-no-concern-me posture on the needless bloodletting taking place in Isokoland.
It read: “A few months ago, 12 sons and daughters of Oleh were mindlessly murdered in cold blood by persons yet to be identified. We have it on good authority that your Government was adequately briefed of the consequences of that mindless multiple murder incident if your government does not step in to intervene immediately.
“What did your government do? Nothing! It took your government over two months to set up a “judicial committee” whose output is yet unknown. Not for the plea from well-meaning sons and daughters of Isoko, an inter communal war may have been raging between Oleh and Ozoro with dire economic consequences for the state.
“More recently, Emede community and Igbide community have been at War with each other with accompanying huge loss of lives and properties. This crisis has been raging for over a month now yet not a word from your government.
“We were thinking that a more responsive and responsible government would immediately draft security officials into both communities to forestall further avoidable loss of lives and properties or better still move to the warring communities just like what Chief Ibori did at the peak of the Warri crisis.
“We thought by now, you would have relocated your seat of power temporarily to Oleh/Ozoro to ensure this raging crisis in Isoko land is nipped in the bud to prevent it from imminently consuming the entire Isoko nation and the state.
“Your inactions and e-no-concern-me posture has made so many Isoko sons and daughters to start believing that your government sees the Isoko people as just ordinary statistics useful only during elections.
“A huge section of the Isoko populace believe very strongly that if the communal crisis raging in Isoko in any way affect the flow of oil from the flow stations in Isoko land, maybe your government would have acted more decisively.”
The group called for 24 hour military presence in Emede and Igbide communities to forestall further losses of lives and properties, urging the governor to fish out, “arrest, and prosecute all the criminals who have hid under inter-communal war to perpetuate the killings and arsons in Emede, Igbide, Enwhe and Oleh communities.”
Stressing the need for Okowa to meet with the leadership of all affected communities with the aim of finding a lasting solution to the ongoing land disputes across Isoko land, the letter added that “we have credible information that you have been fed with all the intelligence information you require to act decisively to bring peace to Isokoland if the lives of the Isoko people really matter to your government.”
