Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara has slammed those who claim Opobo is not Ijaw.
Fubara who spoke when he met with the Regent of Kalabari, Charles Princewill, and other representatives of the Kalabari Kingdom, on Friday at the Government House, Port Harcourt, stated that Ijaw was not complete without Opobo.
The former governor of Rivers State, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), Nyesom Wike had at a book launch in Port Harcourt, insinuated that some persons had said Opobo people were not Ijaw.
Wike’s comment came amidst the rising tension in the political space in the state that has seen the State House of Assembly split into two factions, and the attempted impeachment of the governor, an action many have accused the FCT Minister of orchestrating.
Speaking to the Regent of Kalabari, and other representatives of the Kalabari kingdom, Fubara who is of the Opobo extraction of Ijaw, dismissed insinuations in some quarters that labelled him as a non-Ijaw.
The governor said such persons were ignorant of the history of the Ijaw struggle in the Niger Delta.
He emphasized that the people of Opobo were involved in the Ijaw struggle, which made him a true Ijaw son.
Fubara said: “There is this speculation everywhere; Fubara is not a core Ijaw, Fubara is a half-baked Ijaw.
“Ijaw is not complete without Opobo. So whoever is feeding you with that information, should go back to their history classes.
“You can’t talk about the Ijaw struggle without the Opobo, the Bonny and the Kalabaris. We had our own trade line at that time.
“And for you to occupy a trade line, it means you are a true Ijaw man.
“So, for the record, I’m a full-blooded, up to my bone.”
