Clark wades into Ondo SSG, militants’ crisis

Yinka Oladoyinbo, Akure - 13.08.2008

The leader of the Ijaw nation and former Minister of Information, Chief Edwin Clark, has mediated in the crisis between the members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta (MEND) in Ondo State and the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. Isaac Kekemeke.

This followed a meeting between the groups held at the country home of the Ijaw leader in Kiagbodo, Delta State, when the SSG led a delegation of political office holders of Ijaw extraction in Ondo State to Clark.

Clark commended the Yoruba nation in general, and Governor Olusegun Agagu for giving the Ijaw people a place in the politics of the state.

The former minister was said to have expressed satisfaction over the place of the Ijaw in the politics of Ondo State, adding that Governor Agagu deserved the support of every Ijaw man in the country, for what he described as the “height of generosity.”

Sources at the meeting said the militants agreed to sheath their sword and work for the development of Ijaw clan in Ondo State.

Clark was said to have expressed concern over the spate of the attack on the SSG and his associates by the militants, saying the group should be ready to work with the political leaders in developing the area.

“This is one of my happiest moments as an Ijaw man; that the Ijaw man is allowed to climb to the top in a predominantly Yoruba state tells volume of the generosity of the Yoruba people, most especially Governor Agagu.

“It also goes to show that the nature of relationship between the Ijaw, who are very insignificant minority, and their Yoruba majority neighbours should be a case study to others in the Niger-Delta. The political place of the Ijaw in Ondo State, which is in the South West, is far better than any others in the South-South, except Bayelsa,” he said.