A group, Aladja People’s Movement for Peace has said that the land dispute between Aladja and Ogbe-Ijoh Communities in Udu and Warri South-West Local Government Areas of Delta State has not been resolved just as it kicked against an alleged “forceful acquisition” of Aladja Community land by the Governor Sheriff Oborevwori-led Delta State Government.
The group threatened to fight and secure Aladja Community land with all legal instruments available to them.
This is contrary to claims by the Oborevwori-led Delta State Government which recently said that the lingering boundary dispute between the two communities has been resolved.
The group’s Coordinator, Comrade Simon Sibitor and Comrade Ejovwo Tietie made the assertion during a chat with Our Correspondent in Warri.
The group expressed shock over the claims by the government saying, “It has only played into the hands of the Ijaw nation through the Aladja/Ogbe-Ijoh crisis”.
The group insisted that the land in dispute belongs to Aladja Community
and the government should be ready to kill all Aladja citizens if it wants to acquire it forcefully.
“The land in dispute belongs to Aladja and if the government want to acquire the land by force, the government must be ready to kill everybody,” said the group.
It would be recalled that the office of the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Kingsley Emu had announced that the boundary dispute between the Aladja and Ogbe-Ijoh Communities in Udu and Warri South-West Local Areas have been resolved.
In reaction to the announcement purportedly made by the Secretary to the State Government, the group said, “The Government by that pronouncement by Dr. Kingsley Emu is invariably giving to the Ogbe-Ijoh people and by extension the Ijaw nation what they could not forcefully take from Aladja through the barrels of the gun”.
The group explained that a meeting was convened by the Delta State Government headed by the Secretary to the State Government to discuss the way forward of peace between Aladja and Ogbe-Ijoh Communities.
“But representatives of Aladja Community were shocked to see that there was already a prepared resolution by Emu for the people of both communities to sign using the minority report of Ogbe-Ijoh in the Professor Abednego Ekoku Panel Report instead of the Majority report that was adopted by the then Government of Okowa.”
According to the group, “from the foregoing, it will not be out of place if we say Kingsley Emu has been compromised and he is doing the biddings of his paymasters.
“We the people of Aladja say No to the acquisition of Aladja land by Government.”
The group noted that “Since the outbreak of the crisis, the Ijaws have been clamouring for the acquisition of the land in dispute but the position of Aladja people has always been that the government must as a matter of neccessity, tell the whole world who owns the land.”
The group said the administration of former Governor Emmanuel Ewetan Uduaghan did not accede to the demands of the Ijaws on that ground from acquiring the land from Aladja people by force neither did the government of former Governor Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa did same.
“These two governors passed, must have seen that the land does not belong to Ogbe-Ijoh hence, they did not accede to the demands of the Ijaws.
“But surprisingly, the government of Sheriff Oborevwori which has not deemed it fit to visit the area in dispute has acceded to that dangerous demands by the Ijaws to acquire the land by the Ijaws.”
