The Federal Government, through the Attorney-General of the
Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has sent a memo to the National
Assembly, advising it to change the name of the host community for
the Nigerian Maritime University in Delta State from Okerenkoko to
Okereghigho.
The Ijaw inhabitants of the location, where the school is sited
and their Itsekiri neighbours, have locked horns over ownership of
the land, with the latter citing a Supreme Court judgment,
affirming their ownership of the area.
It was gathered that the AGF’s memo to the National Assembly
sparked anger among Ijaw leaders, including the Ijaw Youth Council
on Friday, calling on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led
administration not to throw the two tribes into communal
crisis.
IYC described the development as tactics by the Federal
Government to further delay the opening of the first specialised
maritime university in West Africa.
In a statement signed by its President, Mr. Eric Omare, the IYC
said that there was no truth in claims by the Itsekiri that the
community where the school was sited belonged to them, adding that
there was evidence to prove that the land belonged to the Ijaw of
Gbaramatu Kingdom.
The IYC said, “Our attention has been drawn to a newspaper
wherein one H. A. Tahir, an officer in the office of the Attorney
General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, issued a memo to
the effect that the correct name of the community hosting the
Nigerian Maritime University should be Okerenghigho and not
Okerenkoko.
“The Attorney General is said to have given the advice on the
strength of a Supreme Court judgment. The IYC wishes to set the
record straight.
“The site or community wherein the Nigerian Maritime University
is situated has never been known, addressed or called Okerenghigho
at any time. The actual, historical and legally recognised name of
the community is Okerenkoko.
“The name Okerenkoko, is reflected in all historical and
political documents and institutions, including the Okerenkoko
Primary School, Okerenkoko Secondary School, Okerenkoko electoral
ward in all electoral documents, Okerenkoko General Hospital,
etc.
“There is no community known as Okerenghigho within and around
the area where the Nigerian Maritime University is situated.
Therefore, the purported Supreme Court case of James Uluba and
others vs Chief E. E. Sillo has nothing to do with the land wherein
the Nigerian Maritime University is situated.”
Omare stated that the Buhari-led administration was trying to
instigate the two ethnic neighbours into a renewed “senseless war”,
which would neither benefit the government nor those allegedly
pushing for it.
He said, “It is now obvious that the Buhari-led administration
does not want the Nigerian Maritime University to start academic
activities, hence this new diversionary strategy to cause
unnecessary inter-ethnic crisis in the area wherein the university
is situated and the Niger Delta at large.”
The IYC however, called on the National Assembly to ignore the
memo from the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, as
it was done in bad faith so as to instigate another round of crisis
in the region.
The Federal Government, through the Attorney-General of the
Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has sent a memo to the National
Assembly, advising it to change the name of the host community for
the Nigerian Maritime University in Delta State from Okerenkoko to
Okereghigho.
The Ijaw inhabitants of the location, where the school is sited
and their Itsekiri neighbours, have locked horns over ownership of
the land, with the latter citing a Supreme Court judgment,
affirming their ownership of the area.
It was gathered that the AGF’s memo to the National Assembly
sparked anger among Ijaw leaders, including the Ijaw Youth Council
on Friday, calling on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led
administration not to throw the two tribes into communal
crisis.
IYC described the development as tactics by the Federal
Government to further delay the opening of the first specialised
maritime university in West Africa.
In a statement signed by its President, Mr. Eric Omare, the IYC
said that there was no truth in claims by the Itsekiri that the
community where the school was sited belonged to them, adding that
there was evidence to prove that the land belonged to the Ijaw of
Gbaramatu Kingdom.
The IYC said, “Our attention has been drawn to a newspaper
wherein one H. A. Tahir, an officer in the office of the Attorney
General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, issued a memo to
the effect that the correct name of the community hosting the
Nigerian Maritime University should be Okerenghigho and not
Okerenkoko.
“The Attorney General is said to have given the advice on the
strength of a Supreme Court judgment. The IYC wishes to set the
record straight.
“The site or community wherein the Nigerian Maritime University
is situated has never been known, addressed or called Okerenghigho
at any time. The actual, historical and legally recognised name of
the community is Okerenkoko.
“The name Okerenkoko, is reflected in all historical and
political documents and institutions, including the Okerenkoko
Primary School, Okerenkoko Secondary School, Okerenkoko electoral
ward in all electoral documents, Okerenkoko General Hospital,
etc.
“There is no community known as Okerenghigho within and around
the area where the Nigerian Maritime University is situated.
Therefore, the purported Supreme Court case of James Uluba and
others vs Chief E. E. Sillo has nothing to do with the land wherein
the Nigerian Maritime University is situated.”
Omare stated that the Buhari-led administration was trying to
instigate the two ethnic neighbours into a renewed “senseless war”,
which would neither benefit the government nor those allegedly
pushing for it.
He said, “It is now obvious that the Buhari-led administration
does not want the Nigerian Maritime University to start academic
activities, hence this new diversionary strategy to cause
unnecessary inter-ethnic crisis in the area wherein the university
is situated and the Niger Delta at large.”
The IYC however, called on the National Assembly to ignore the
memo from the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, as
it was done in bad faith so as to instigate another round of crisis
in the region.
Read more https://nairalaw.com/delta-trouble-looms-over-fgs-choice-of-maritime-varsity/