By Correspondent in Lokoja.
Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo.
The Riverine Communities of Ibaji Local Government Area (LGA) have appealed to Governor Usman Ahmed Ododo to urgently address what they describe as a long-standing and systematic marginalization in political appointments, allegedly orchestrated in favour of their upland counterparts.
The communities under the Ibaji Riverine Environmental Rights Advocates (IRERA) umbrella, made the during a press briefing in Lokoja on Tuesday.
Speaking on behalf of the group, spokesperson Uchola Ojoagefu Andrew said successive administrations had consistently sidelined the Riverine Communities despite their sacrifices in protecting the area’s crude oil deposits.
He noted that this exclusion was evident in the distribution of key political positions, including appointments to the recently constituted Kogi State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (KGSODC).
Ojoagefu noted that, of all the political appointments allocated to Ibaji LGA, only the Council Chairman is from the Riverine area, while all other major positions were given to individuals from the upland communities.
According to him, all major political positions in Ibaji LGA are currently held by individuals from the upland areas.
These,he added ,include the Member representing Ibaji State Constituency and Deputy Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Mrs. Comfort Egwaba; the Commissioner for Agriculture; the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Deputy Governor; the Majority Leader of the Legislative Council the Chief of Staff to the Council Chairman; the LG Treasurer; the Secretary to the LGA; and the newly appointed Managing Director of KGSODC.
He further lamented that even positions as grassroots as the Chairman of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Ibaji Chapter, were taken by the upland, leaving the Riverine , whom he described as “the goose that lays the golden egg” politically shortchanged.
“The Ibaji LGA is geographically divided into upland and Riverine areas, yet the Riverine people have been deliberately excluded from benefits accruing from both federal and state opportunities,” Ojoagefu said.
He recalled that the former House of Representatives member for the constituency, who served two terms, was from the upland and decried current moves to ensure the upland produces the next representative again.
Ojoagefu warned that the state government’s closeness to certain political actors from the upland, including recent defectors from the opposition, could undermine grassroots political development.
He expressed disappointment that the Managing Director of KGSODC and all three members representing host communities on its board were from the upland, leaving the Riverine people, whom he said fought to secure the oil resources,feeling “like political orphans.”
“Governor Ododo is a man of fairness and equity. I am convinced he may have been misinformed about the geopolitics of Ibaji. While we are one people, our geography clearly divides us into upland and Riverine. What we ask is for him to correct this age-long political imbalance.
“In Ibaji LGA, we have become political slaves to our brothers. Yet we command the voting strength that can swing elections here.We call on Governor Ododo, as a God-fearing leader and father of our state, to urgently engage with the Riverine people and ensure fairness in political representation ahead of 2027,”he said.
The group urged the governor to set in motion a process that would guarantee equity and inclusivity for all parts of Ibaji LGA.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
