By George OPARA
Heavy security operatives barricade Ijaw House in Yenagoa, capital of Bayelsa state, Monday, as crisis marred the election of the national executive council of the Ijaw congress.
Spear News uncovered that security operatives even sealed off Ijaw House along Sani Abacha Road, in the metropolis.
Police vans were strategically positioned around the complex, while DSS operatives maintained a strong presence within the facility, effectively shutting down all activities.
An aide to one of the candidates who arrived with escorts from the Nigerian Army and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, said the barricade was enforced on the orders of the Commissioner of Police.
But findings corroborated that the directive was even in compliance with the directive by the Conference of Ijaw Traditional Rulers and Elders, earlier calling for the suspension of the election amid rising disputes and petitions against the NEC and its Electoral Committee.
At a press briefing last Sunday, the Chairman of CITRE and Bayelsa State Traditional Rulers Council, King Bubaraye Dakolo, cited multiple constitutional breaches under the Prof. Benjamin Okaba-led NEC, warning that the prevailing tension among delegates made a credible election impossible.
He emphasised that the final arbiter under the INC constitution, CITRE had formally written to the Bayelsa State Police Command to prevent any gathering at Ijaw House pending the resolution of the disputes.
The disruption underscores a deepening leadership crisis within the INC, a body regarded as the foremost socio-cultural organisation representing the interests of the Ijaw people across Nigeria and the diaspora, unifying the platform as a critical voice in advocacy, resource control and environmental justice.
As security remains tight around the venue, uncertainty persists over when the electoral process will resume, raising fresh concerns about stability within one of the Niger Delta’s most influential ethnic institutions.
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