MacDonald Igbadiwei on Monday emerged as the newly elected President of Ijaw National Congress (INC) at the just concluded elections.
This was despite the call by the Council of Ijaw Traditional Rulers and Elders (CITRE), a body under the Ijaw National Congress, calling on all Ijaws not to take part in the rescheduled INC elections, which took place on Monday, 13th April, 2026.
Conducted at Ijaw House, the election had about five hundred and forty-eight delegates that voted, and about thirty-five candidates took part in the election.
The election was, however, very peaceful, and the process was very cordial as the election went on electronically.
Not satisfied with the rescheduled election, Timi Ogoriba, Nengi James and Rear Admiral Geoffrey Yanga all agreed that there was a need to give CITRE a chance to do due diligence on loads of petitions brought before it.
According to one of the letters sighted by this Correspondent and addressed to CITRE Chairman, Bayelsa State Government DSS and others, Ogoriba had said he was boycotting the election because of some anomalies noticed, while Yanga, in his write-up, stated the wrongful and unconstitutional emergence of ad-hoc delegates from the Zones.
He also suggested that N-CITRE members in ELECO, including the Chairman and the Deputy, should recuse themselves from ELECO because they are also members of the arbitration in any dispute arising from the electoral process.
He also suspected compromised procurement of the electronic voting contractor by NEC instead of ELECO, among other things and asked that they be corrected.
“Unfortunately, that has not happened, so my legal process is still subsisting. Going forward, if two major organs of INC are in disagreement over the NEC election, the rational thing is to keep the election on hold. Election or not, the Ijaw Nation will not die. The Ijaw nation will not expire. It is we individuals who will expire.
“On my own, in the midst of all the controversies, I am not a party to any election scheduled for 13th April 2026, but I remain a candidate until the proper constitutional procedures are followed. Let me, in fact, add that no person, and indeed no person, should aspire to lead a fractured Ijaw Nation. We must understandably go in unison to any leadership selection process.”
During a Press Briefing by CITRE on Sunday, the chairman of the body, HRM, King Bubaraye Dakolo Agada IV, Ibenanaowei of Ekpetiama Kingdom, had disclosed that the election is illegal and therefore should be boycotted by all sons and daughters of the Ijaw Nation.
King Dakolo had disclosed that their mandate, according to INC’s Constitution, to resolve all pending petitions and misunderstandings before an election of INC will be conducted, maintaining that the current President, in the person of Professor Benjamin Okaba, was taking laws into his hands.
But Professor Benjamin Okaba, the outgoing President in defence, said that he has a court order compelling him to conduct the election, adding that “I just got a court order compelling me to conduct this election. Let me say it again. I have this Order of the Courts.
“You can see the signatures and all that, placing an order on me as President of the National Congress to conduct this election without any interference by anybody.
“I know there is some background. A few days ago, some people went to the air to say these elections will not be held. They gave their reasons, and I did say by way of response that I, the President and Leader of Congress, that I’ve been given the sole authority to speak on behalf of the Ijaw nation to also declare the state and health of a joint nation. And if there are issues that are not going on well, it is also me, myself as President or somebody I’ve delegated that can speak to the press.
“The elections that were to be held on the 7th were shifted because there was a court order and we as responsible people, obeyed. So if some other persons say whether a court order or no court order, because you are a leader of a traditional institution, you can just come solo because you have the backing of some powerful people and make declarations that people should not come to this place. But we are here. The people are here. The young people are here.
” And in addition to the voice, because I said it clearly, that conducting this election represents the mood of the people. They want a smooth transition. As President, I want to hand over to another president, not to some persons who want to lead the Ijaw nation by default.
” I’ve said those traditional rulers should go and pick forms. If you want to be the INC president, go and pick the form and join the queue, not through any fraudulent means that you don’t even have.
He assured that anybody who emerges as INC President through the election process remains a valid president of the INC, adding that the process is backed by law.
“Are you hearing me? What makes the validity? The people are here. Nobody is being coerced. The process is very smooth and clear. The process is just transparent because, as you vote, you see the result.
“There is real-time transmission of results. So if not for the little disruption we had in the morning hours, by now we should be declaring results. It’s a real-time transmission of results.
“The Electoral Chairman is a retired Supreme Court judge, and I don’t see anybody more knowledgeable on legal issues than himself. We have a National Legal Adviser who has also given a perfect interpretation.
“This is not local or village governance. It’s not the village authority. It’s a congress that goes beyond Bayelsa, Delta, and Akwa Ibom.”
