WARRI— THE Delta State Government yesterday read the riot act to Ijaw leaders opposed to the recent peace accord reached between the Ijaw and Itsekiri in Warri, warning that any person or group attempting to disturb the peace of the area and bring the two ethnic groups to hostilities afresh shall be dealt with.
The government, reacting to the withdrawal of three members of the 14-man Ijaw delegation to the peace meeting that culminated in the accord said the withdrawal was made under duress and had no effect on the entire peace plan.
Speaking at the Government House Annex in Warri, the state Commissioner for Inter-ethnic Relations, Mr. Ovouzorie Macaulay, said the state was ready to invite those opposed to the peace accord for further explanation on the reason for their action, said to be threatening the peace of Warri.
He said the leaders, already identified to law enforcement agents, had a hidden agenda. He said: “It is an unfortunate situation that an agreement that took us about six months is being threatened by these individuals. These leaders opposed to the peace accord have a hidden agenda.
They will explain further to government the reason for threatening the peace in Warri. The law enforcement agencies need to invite and speak to them because government will not be coerced by anybody on its stand on peace. But we will take into account the interest of the people in the state.
“These few elements attempting to destroy the peace in Warri, we now believe that should there be an upsurge of acts like terrorism and attack on any group in Warri, it will become clear that those fanning the ember of crises have now shown themselves to the people. We and security agencies should be courageous enough to handle these persons in the language they understand, if they fail to support dialogue. In order words, all I think they want is to drag Warri back to hostilities. They should not think they are sacred cows.”
Macaulay dismissed suggestions that government coerced the two groups to sign the peace accord, saying: “I want to make it clear that though the government mediated at the meeting, there was no time, either by phone call or direct contact that government made an input into the decision.
“You all recall that there was something like a thinking basket, and the basket was prepared by them and the ideas, problems and differences were sorted by a seven-man committee elected by themselves to go and sort out the area of different. It is the outcome of such report that necessitated the peace pact. There was nothing new in it, as the youths have done similar thing.”
On the alleged non-consultation with notable Ijaw leaders before and after the peace meetings, the commissioner declared that the composition of the Ijaw delegation was made by the Ijaw national leader, Chief E. K. Clark. “During the course of consultation of setting up a peace committee between the two groups, the governor consulted Chief Clark.
I personally, as a commissioner who moderated also visited the chief and pleaded with him. And I want to put on record that it was Chief E. K. Clark that nominated Ijaw members of the committee. And there was no time that any formal information was done in writing that they have withdrawn the mandate he gave to the committee.
“It is, however, a thing of regret that after they have rounded up their report, they objected. The three persons coerced are from Gbaramatu Clan, and this makes one out of five clans that interacted with the Itsekiri and this cannot destroy the entire work of the group.”
Chief Wellington Okirika, Chief J. G. B Ari and Mr. Clark Gbenewei had in an open letter to Macaulay said they had no mandate of the Ijaw to sign the accord and that their participation in the talks was to deceive the Itsekiri.
