RE: PLANNED ATTACK BY THE PEOPLE OF ALADJA COMMUNITY ON OGBE-IJOH COMMUNITY

Our attention has been drawn to a poorly written and ideologically deficient diatribe in form of open letter to the Governor of Delta State, evilly concocted by some blood thirsty warmongers from Ogbe-Ijoh Community under the auspices of the Ijaw Youth Council, accusing the peace-loving Aladja Community particularly, our illustrious son, Chief Jite Brown, of planned attack on Ogbe-Ijoh community.

The only reason alluded to for this wild and bogus allegation is that a gully was dug across an access road to Ogbe-Ijoh Community in Aladja. What the evil plotters fail to tell the governor is the massive construction work currently on-going on the Aladja-Ogbe-Ijoh road, which has practically rendered access to Ogbe-Ijoh through the main road impossible, forcing road users to meander through peoples’ farmlands, compounds and property enroute Ogbe-Ijoh.

If these evil plotters and agents of war and destabilization, driven by hate and envy were up to any good, they should have told the governor that Aladja Community was not in any way averse to access to Ogbe-Ijoh through the main road and that any difficulty being encountered may be due to the construction of Ekwregware/ Iyeghe Road by the Delta State Government and not any deliberate plot to deny access to the neighbouring Ogbe-Ijoh.

The allusion to the claim of Chief Jite Brown being an adopted son of His Excellency, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, Governor of Delta State clearly betrayed the envious stance of the Ogbe-Ijoh youths on this matter. Chief Jite Brown had not at anytime referred to himself as Okowa’s adopted son and if that were to be the case, there is nothing for Ogbe-Ijoh youths to break heads over because that would be the governor’s prerogative.

Aladja Community is not and will never plan to attack Ogbe-Ijoh Community. We know the gimmicks of the Ogbe-Ijoh people over the years. They raise alarm of planned attack on them whereas they are the ones planning to attack Aladja so that at the end, the blame of their military misadventure would be borne by Aladja (their hosts).

We therefore wish to draw the attention of His Excellency, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, the Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, the in-coming Governor, and the security agencies to provocative tricks of the Ogbe-Ijoh people to always raise false alarm before attacking Aladja so as to take steps to arrest the situation before it gets out of hands. Aladja are peace-loving as evidence in the generous accommodation of Ogbe-Ijoh people for decades in their land, yet the settlers will not stop their expansionist tendencies by hurting the innocent Aladja people from time to time.

We use this medium to appreciate the efforts of His Excellency, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa since this crisis started. We also appeal for further attention to the matter so as to bring total and lasting peace to bear on this matter.

Signed: Comr. Reuben Doro, Welfare Chairman Aladja Community.