Despite the call by the Council of Ijaw Traditional Rulers and Elders (CITRE) on all Ijaws not to take part in the rescheduled Ijaw National Congress (INC) elections on Monday, April 13, 2026, the election went on.
The election had about four hundred delegates and thirty five candidates, which was very peaceful and cordial as the election process 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 to loads of petitions brought before it.
According to one of the letters sighted by New Telegraph, which was 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 arbitration in any dispute arising from the electoral process.
He also suspected compromised procurement of 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 NEC election, the rational thing is to keep the election on hold. Election or not, Ijaw Nation will not die. Ijaw nation will not expire. It is we individuals that 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 I and indeed no person should aspire to leading 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 defense said that he has court 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 signings 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 are some background. Some few days ago, some persons went to air to say these elections will not hold.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 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 so delegated that can speak to the press.
“The elections that were to hold on the 7th were shifted because there was a court order and we as responsible people, we obeyed. So if some other persons say whether 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 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 that 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 real-time transmission of results.
“The Electoral Chairman is a retired Supreme Court judge and I don’t see anybody that is more knowledgeable on legal issues more 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 village authority. It’s a congress that goes beyond Bayelsa, Delta, Akwa Ibom.”
From the ongoing upload, MacDonald Igbadiwei is leading in the position of President.
