The traditional council and people of Gbaramatu Kingdom have warned President Goodluck Jonathan to halt the proposed groundbreaking ceremony of the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) project, purportedly billed to hold on Friday.
The aggrieved Ijaws said until the pending issues of land ownership, as regards the EPZ project were resolved, no groundbreaking ceremony would be allowed to take place.
The demanded, among others, that the EPZ project named after Ogidigben in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State must be reverted to bear EPZ Gbaramatu-Ogidigben or Gibagu or any other suitable name that will reflect all interests, before the groundbreaking ceremony holds.
The said failure to address the misnomer might eventually push them to seek self-help that might ignite another ethnic war as these grievances were laid bare at a grand protest and World Press briefing held on Wednesday at Oporoza, the country home of former militant, Government Okpemupolo a.k.a Tompolo and headquarters of Gbaramatu Kingdom.
The mamoth crowd, comprising traditional chiefs, women, youths and children, during the protest were armed with placards, bearing various inscriptions.
Chief Godspower Gbenekama, who spoke on behalf of the protesting Ijaws, said the agenda being promoted bordered on continuous oppression and marginalisation of the interest of the Ijaws of Gbaramatu kingdom, in a project they have a major stake.
He observed that the fact that the multibillion naira EPZ project traversed Ijaw communities such as Oporoza, Okpeleama-Tebujor, Opuedebubor, Atanbaghene, Okerenkokogbene, Opuede, Jouala, Opuede-Zion, New Jerusalem Zion, Azama, Ghan-Ama Zion, Mekama and Ikpokpo showed that it cannot be named after an Itsekiri community.
Spokesperson for the kingdom, Mr Paul Bebenimibo, while addressing journalists, said the FG should postpone the plan to perform the groundbreaking ceremony with a view to addressing the grievances of the people in order to avoid another crisis in the kingdom.
Mr Keston Pondi, another youth leader, also warned that if the FG goes ahead to perform the groundbreaking ceremony, youths in the kingdom will resort to self-help, saying “as Ijaws, we can always defend ourselves.”
Meanwhile, Chairman of Export Processing Zone Interface Committee, Mr Austin Oborogbeyi, had told Nigerian Tribune that the issue as regards Ijaws claim of marginalisation was being addressed.
According to him, the EPZ project is big enough to accommodate all interests including that of the Ijaws.
It will be recalled that the $16 billion EPZ project has been the source of internal crises within the Itsekiri nation before that of the Ijaws erupted.
The delay in carrying out the groundbreaking ceremony has been as a result of the internal bickering among the Itsekiri over who to interface between NNPC/Delta State government and the people of Ugborodo.
Efforts to resolve the crisis that has led to lost of lives since late 2013 have proved abortive
