The Ijaw professionals in Diaspora, a socio-cultural group dedicated to preservation of Ijaw interest worldwide, has cried out against what it called conspiracy to destroy the Ijaw cause through pulling down it leaders following the loss of the Presidency by President Goodluck Jonathan.

The Group rose from an extraordinary congress at Atlanta Georgia last week with a resolve to sensitise Ijaw people of the plot by her enemies to be carried out through her fellow Ijaws as was done to the President.

In a statement read out to the Press by its General Secretary Akpoebi Okrowanta, the group lamented that the loss of the Presidency was avoidable were the President not betrayed by fellow Ijaws he placed trust on, warning that such political miscalculation could repeat itself unless the Ijaws became wary of making similar mistakes by not pulling down the remaining leadership left to fill the big vacuum existing today.

The group, in the statement, signed on behalf of Ijaw Professionals in Diaspora, Atlanta New York by Terry Leandon, Akpoebi Okorowanta and Sunny Engi, was particularly concerned about attempts to destroy the stability of the only wholly Ijaw state for narrow political reasons, adding that any attempt to disregard the larger interest of Ijawland in the new dispensation will quickly erase the giant strides already recorded by the race, especially in Bayelsa State.

To this end the group appealled to politicians to always consider what their actions will do to the overall Ijaw cause and subordinate their narrow political interests to it.

The group is taking other steps to implement its resolutions to prevail on Ijaw leaders to work in synergy with others and to punish offenders by exposing publicly their divisive activities.

It set up a five person committee to independently investigate allegation against prominent Ijaw leaders and draw up a code of conduct for leaders.

The group believes that the Ijaw race must not have a leadership vacuum and believes that the legacy of the outgoing President will leave for the Ijaw cause was to strengthen up and coming leaders such as Governor Dickson to play a national role in to mitigate the collapse of the Ijaw cause. It is to this end that it frowns at the latest attempt by detractors to tarnish his image so as to make it impossible for the Ijaw race to continue in its upward progress despite the loss of the presidency.

Already the group has investigated and found untrue the latest attempt to pull the unblemished name of the leader of the only purely Ijaw State to the mud by linking him to a spurious claim of misappropriation of funds with what it claimed as First Bank Chairman as being distributed in the social media.

“We confirmed with the EFCC that no such complaints have been received contrary to claims that the EFCC was handling the case. With a fake website, the sponsors, who are strangely prominent Ijaw sons, did not consider what the big picture of their action would be but only concentrating on the immediate perceived political advantage.

“This is just one of the many cases we have investigated and if those concerned do not stop this self destruction, we shall publish their names for the world to see. Once again we appeal to all well meaning Ijaw people to prevail on their people to work for stability and progress as a way to ending the unfavourable tide that the enemy has woven for our people,” the statement stated.

•Photo shows Jonathan.

Update news