Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has been warned by the Ijaw ethnic community that the only condition under which they would support the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the March 11, 2022 governorship and House of Assembly elections is the completion of the Ayakoromo bridge and other abandoned road projects in the riverine areas before his administration ends on May 29, 2022. The demand was outlined in a statement issued by the Ayakoromo community in Burutu and signed by Ekpegha Preye, spokesperson for Concerned Citizens for Ijaw Development. The statement was made available to journalists in Warri on Saturday.
The group urged the governor to either fulfill these infrastructure commitments or be prepared to face investigations by the EFCC and ICPC over what they described as “incessant borrowing and loans taken to the detriment of Deltans” toward the end of his tenure. They emphasized that the Ijaw community will not automatically vote for the PDP, citing the “ill treatment” they have endured over the past seven years.
The statement accused the outgoing administration of deliberately neglecting the development of Ijaw communities, pointing to abandoned projects such as the Ayakoromo bridge, Torugbene‑Ojobo road, Odorobu, Odofori, Bulu‑Angiama road, and the Apelebiri link road to Patani main town. Consequently, the group vowed to vote against the PDP governorship candidate, Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, on March 11, 2023, stating that they have lost trust and confidence in his party. They added that the Ijaw people are “tired of the umbrella party” and intend to support an alternative in the upcoming elections.
The statement continued: “Governor Okowa has consistently failed to match his words with action, deceiving Ijaw people—especially the Ayakoromo community—over the failed promise to re‑award the Ayakoromo bridge project to SETRACO. It was unfortunate that Okowa promised to mobilise SETRACO to the site in early January 2023, but all promises he made were lies and political gimmicks to mock Ijaw people in the state. We hereby urge Governor Okowa and the PDP‑led government to do the needful by completing the Ayakoromo bridge and other abandoned road projects in the riverine communities before his administration lapses by May 29, or else be ready to face EFCC/ICPC over his incessant borrowing and loans taken to the detriment of Deltans towards the end of his administration.”
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