Ijaw leaders from the Warri Federal Constituency in Delta State have alleged an ethnic bias in the distribution of the direct data capturing (DDC) machines in the area by the Independent National Electoral Commi-ssion (INEC).

They also blamed certain elements within the Federal Government and INEC circles for masterminding the said lopsidedness in the allocation of the vital registration equipment to the supposedly designated areas.

The leaders warned that the hard-earned peace in Niger-Delta region and Delta State in particular would be ruffled again unless “our justified complaints are quickly addressed and remedied”.

The group, under the auspices of the Warri Federal Constituency Ijaw Leaders of Thought, made the allegations Wednesday at Oporoza, the traditional headquarters of the Gbaramatu Ijaw Kingdom shortly after the official flagging off of the national voter registration in the area.

During the brief formal ceremony, the monarch of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Pere (King) Godwin K. Bebenimibo Ogeh-Gbaran III, obtained his voter’s
card alongside his wife, Queen Mary Bebenimibo, at the Fiyewei Primary School Unit of Oporoza electoral Ward from the INEC officials.
Oporoza is the hometown of ex-militant and Movement for the Emancipation of Niger-Delta (MEND) leader, Chief Government
Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, who have been playing a central role the post-amnesty programme of the Federal Government. The dreaded "Camp
5" of the mailtia was situated there. The Ijaw leaders, in a statement made available to newsmen, alleged that the allocation and distribution of the electronic registration equipment in Warri communities was slanted in favour of their Istekiri neighbours.

They said that although all available statistics in country had for long shown that the Ijaws form the majority of the population of Warri
South-West Local Government Area, INEC have deployed far higher number of the DDC machines in Itsekiri settlements.

Moreover, they claimed they have called local and international attention to what they called “the deliberate and partial delineation of wards/units in the three Warri local government areas”, namely Warri South-West, Warri South and Warri North. The group further alleged that of the total number of 299 DDC machines sent to the area in question, only 57 had been stationed in Ijaw communities; as against the 242 such machines sent to Itsekiri-dominated areas.

The Ijaw leaders noted, “INEC through its officials are still perpetrating and perpetuating this political marginalization by distributing DDC machines in reckless impunity” with Itsekiri areas given 85% of the machines deployed in Warri South-West, as against 15% to Ijaws; 75% to Itsekiris in Warri North with Ijaws given 20%; and, 75% of DDC machines sent to Warri South are in Itsekiri areas and 22% are in Urhobo areas, whereas the Ijaws communities have only three percent (3%). According to the statement, “To worsen the above scenario, INEC officials have also added salt to injury by deliberately, consciously and overtly ceding seven (7) units of Oporoza wards to Ugborodo and Madangho (all Itsekiri wards). These units are Kpokpo (two units) and Sahara (five units), in the course of the distribution of DDC machines, despite our protest against this ungodly act of daylight
robbery by the electoral officers.”

Three Gbaramatu Ijaw chiefs, Dan Ekpebide, Kenneth B. Otuaro and one-time transport commissioner Bosin Ebikeme, signed the statement titled, “The Ongoing Voter Registration: Matters arising as it Affects the Ijaws of Warri”.

Earlier, the royal father, who also lamented that the voter registration commenced in his domain about six days ago, in an exercise that officially commenced nation-wide on January 15, 2011, advised the appropriate authorities to endeavour “to extend the registration in this area to make up for the time lost simply because the necessary equipment and materials came in here very late.”

Pere Bebenimibo, however, called on all his people who have attained the voting age to come out and be registered, saying he was confident
that the INEC authorities would do the right thing by addressing the grievances of the Ijaws particularly in the Warri Federal Constituency.
“I want to earnestly appeal to INEC to do something fast to perfect the wrong, so that we can all go about our various duties in an atmosphere of peace”, the monarch stressed, nothing that the people’s power to determine how they were governed by the different leaders is encapsulated in the voter card, which enables him to choose the leaders.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/ddc-machines-ijaws-allege-ethnic-slant/85733/