ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, Yenagoa
The Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to wade in over the alleged injustice being meted out to the Acting Rector of the Federal Polytechnic (Oil and Gas), Ekeowe, Bayelsa State, Dr. Iwekumo Wanton, by the Federal Ministry of Education.
The IYC, in a statement on Monday by its National Spokesman, Comrade Ebilade Ekerefe, said owing to alleged vested interests of an arrowhead of the education ministry, Dr Wanton had not been confirmed four months after his appointment.
Ekerefe claimed that the arrowhead had consistently overruled the emergence of Dr Wanton who was appointed in a free, fair and transparent process and certified by the relevant bodies.
He implored President Buhari to particularly caution the Minister of State, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, over his alleged meddlesomeness towards the emergence of Dr. Wanton, an Ijaw man.
Ekerefe urged the president to direct the immediate confirmation of Dr. Wanton as the substantive Rector of the Institution.
The spokesman, who said the non-confirmation of a validly appointed rector was a joke taken too far, warned that the youths body would resist any plan to experiment with the destiny of the Ijaw people.
Ekerefe said: “The emergence of Dr. Iwekumo Wanton through a selection process was certified free, fair and transparent including the IYC that monitored the processes.
“But the decision by Nwajiuba to overrule the efforts and refused to certify the substantive status of Wanton as Rector four months after the selection process is provocative and any act capable of distrusting the Buhari administration’s achievements in the institution.
“The Ijaw youths are disturbed, sad and angry at the mysterious delay in the appointment of a substantive Rector for the institution despite the authentication of the selection process by the Federal Character Commission and the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu.
“We are perceiving the actions of the junior minister, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, as politically motivated, sectional and targeted at the indigenes of the region.
“Despite the many unresolved issues between the Federal Government and the Ijaw nation, the inclusion of the Dr. Wanton and Federal Polytechnic, Ekeowe, on the plate is capable of heating up the region and disrupting the existing peace.
“The IYC frowns at the sudden interruption of the process as a deliberate attempt by adversaries of the Ijaw people to further deprive the Ijaw nation of the service of one of its finest breeds who is committed to moving the institution forward and competing actively in the academic space.
“We want to call on President Muhammadu Buhari to caution the Minister of State for Education and should immediately direct the confirmation of Dr. Iwekumo Wanton as the substantive Rector of the Institution. We warn that any plan to experiment with the destiny of the Ijaw people is a joke taken too far, and will be fully resisted with the might of the spirit of Adaka.”
Ekerefe pointed out that the youths’ strong position over the emergence of Wanton was based on his performance in the last three months as the Acting Rector of the institution which had given stakeholders the hope of a new dawn in the institution.
He added: “He is a young and brilliant administrator that understands the geographical terrain, culture, tradition as well as the struggle and aspirations of the Ijaw people.
“It is our conviction that the President fully appreciate the unique peculiarities of the area, and that the location of the institution in a rural coastal community of Ekeowe requires that any individual appointed to oversee the affairs of the polytechnic must be thoroughly conversant with the terrain and the environmental challenges.
“He has effectively mobilised his management team and all members of staff to fully operate on the campus. This is against the practice of overseeing the affairs of the institution from Yenagoa, the state capital, as it was prior to his appointment.”