Kinsmen of the former Niger Delta warlord, Government Ekpumopolo, popularly known as "Tompolo" in Gbramatu Kingdom of Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State, on Tuesday yesterday staged a protest march against the planned flag-off of the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) project in the state.
Their message was that they were ready for war against their Itsekiri neighbours over allegations of exclusion and land grabbing. Tife Owolabi

The protesters, who comprised hundreds of Youths, Women and members of the Gbaramatu Traditional Council of Chiefs, accused their Itsekiri neigbours, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Delta State government, of deliberate exclusion of the Ijaw communities of Gbaramatu kingdom from the project with the naming of the project as Ogidigben and the setting up of an interface committee made up only of Itsekiri leaders.

The women carried placards with such inscriptions such "We are ready to die for our land;" "Jonathan should avert bloodshed, call Uduaghan to order;" and "We own the land, we are ready to defend it."

Some agitated youths, who led by a known former militia youth, Patrick Allah, popularly known as Epelepele, and who were dressed in strange masks and white-and-red battle-style outfits, warned that they were ready to go up in arms against their Itsekiri neigbours if the as and youths vowed to engage in violent clash with its neigbour's if the proposed flag-off is not put on hold and such issues as the naming of the project and the composition of the interface committee did not change.

Addressing the crowd of protesters at the Oporoza Civic Centre, a member of the EPZ Stakeholders Communities of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Chief Godspower Gbenekama, said that although the Gbaramatu Communities are not opposed to the setting up of the Export Processing Zone, they are opposed to the grand design by the NNPC and the Federal and State governments to oppress and marginalize the Gbaramatu Kingdom in the project.

According to Gbenekama, the EPZ project cuts across more than 13 Gbaramatu communities and should have been named with consideration to the contributions by all stakeholder communities.
Why then should the project be named after an Itsekiri community and interest?” he asked. “The decision of Ugborodo community and Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan to name the project after Ogidigben, an Itsekiri enclave, even though a bigger portion of the project lies in Ijaw land and Gbaramatu in particular, a kingdom with its own monarch that stretches back hundred years, is not only an insult but an invitation to crises and chaos."

He warned that the lessons of the Warri crisis are still fresh in the minds of all peace-loving Nigerians and that care must be taken to avoid actions similar to those that caused that unfortunate war.
“The Federal Government, Delta State government and the NNPC cannot take the lands of Gbaramatu Community without giving us our dues. It is unacceptable and Gbaramatu children would resist and fight with the last drop of their blood. We are peace loving people but our peaceful disposition must not be taken for weakness."

In a statement supporting the protesters, the Youth Presidents of the Sokobolou and Yokories communities of Ogulagha community of Bururtu Local Government Area of the State, Comrades Adowei Binaebi and Daniel Comboye, asked President Goodluck Jonathan to take a closer look at the setting up of the EPZ project. They also cautioned the NNPC and Governor Uduaghan not to throw the region into bloodshed.

The youth leaders noted that as part of President Jonathan’s promise to create employment for the youths, reliable sources had told them he plans to flag-off the EPZ project next Friday, but warned that unless the name of their communities is attached to the project, the event should not take place as the Sokobolou/Yokori are a prominent host of the EPZ project. follow the link below to see photos and the rest of the story...

http://zieraw..com/2014/11/we-are-ready-for-war-against-itsekiri.html

Everybody wants to fight

Save yourselves the pain and suffering. The President will be in Ogidigben tomorrow, and you people will not say a word. This will be for your good. This is delta state, not Northeastern Nigeria, the land of cowards. If you want a fight you are welcome to it.

atlwireles:
Save yourselves the pain and suffering. The President will be in Ogidigben tomorrow, and you people will not say a word. This will be for your good. This is delta state, not Northeastern Nigeria, the land of cowards. If you want a fight you are welcome to it.

Huh? We all know Jonathan will avoid such, set up a committee to bring them together and appease these thugs. His appease everyone idea may seem gentlemanly but is costing him and Nigeria respect!

Tompolo and co, of all people, shouldn't be disrespecting him by threatening him! I wondewr how they expect politicians, the military, other ethnicities and the foreign world to see him as worthy of regard when they can do such

[s]

nuclearboy:


Huh? We all know Jonathan will avoid such, set up a committee to bring them together and appease these thugs. His appease everyone idea may seem gentlemanly but is costing him and Nigeria respect!

Tompolo and co, of all people, shouldn't be disrespecting him by threatening him! I wondewr how they expect politicians, the military, other ethnicities and the foreign world to see him as worthy of regard when they can do such

[/s]

atlwireles:
[s][/s]

Bros @atlwireles

The joke is on you.

You crossed out my post with your keypad

God and the Jonathan you worship have crossed out your post with the TRUTH as he did what I said he would do

[s]

nuclearboy:


Bros @atlwireles

The joke is on you.

You crossed out my post with your keypad

God and the Jonathan you worship have crossed out your post with the TRUTH as he did what I said he would do

[/s]

what do u expect in a country with a weak leader
.....
.........things fall apart ..the center cant hold..........

Noise.

nuclearboy:


Bros @atlwireles

The joke is on you.

You crossed out my post with your keypad

God and the Jonathan you worship have crossed out your post with the TRUTH as he did what I said he would do

God bless you

What a joke of a leader GEJ is.....

That a bunch of urchins called Militants do shakara and forbade him from coming to that place and he didnt come show how lily-livered the clueless one is

Little wonder he refused to set foot on anywhere in the NE

Rubbish

#in Damian Marley's voice:

tribal war,
we nuh want no more a dat
Every man deserve to earn
And every child deserve to learn, na
Tribal war
A nuh dat we a defend
Every man deserve a turn
Like a flame deserve to burn

We don't want to war in Egbema/Gbaramatu anymore o
The fight don do us

atlwireles:
[s][/s]

So much pain, anger, weeping and gnashing of teeth

nuclearboy:


So much pain, anger, weeping and gnashing of teeth

You have been noticed oya move on

atlwireles:

You have been noticed oya move on

And you have been served...... by your tin-god