Kuku’s move to amend IYC constitution sparks crisis
MAY 6, 2013
Kingsley Kuku
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A meeting arranged by the Chairman of the Amnesty Implementation Committee and Presidential Adviser on Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Kingsley Kuku, to amend the constitution of the Ijaw Youth Congress ended in crisis on Saturday.
The controversy that ensued at the meeting held in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, our correspondent gathered, followed the shooting of one of the IYC members.
A soldier reportedly shot the victim after aggrieved members of IYC prevented Kuku, who was in company with the Leader of the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force, Mujaheed Dokubo-Asari, from leaving the hall.
The source, who pleaded anonymity, however, said the victim later received treatment at an unnamed hospital.
Trouble started following an allegation that Kuku arranged the meeting to smuggle some clauses into the constitution that would prevent some persons opposed to President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the forthcoming election of IYC.
Kuku is reportedly planning to restructure and reposition the IYC to support Jonathan’s reelection bid in 2015.
The source said, “What Kuku and other pro-Jonathan politicians want to do is to create a Board of Trustees for IYC where all past President of IYC will be members. The proposed clause is to make elected executive members of IYC subservient to the BoT.
“This means that the forthcoming President of IYC will take orders from the BoT. Therefore, the likes of Kuku, Dokubo and the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Ijaw Affairs, Mr. Felix Tuodolor, will be members of IYC.”
Our correspondent gathered that the aspirants to the IYC election, scheduled for June, were averse to the moves, which they described as against the mission statement of the group.
Tempers were said to have flared at the meeting that was attended by the IYC leaders, including the Chairman of the Nembe Kingdom Oil and Gas Committee, Chief Nengi James.
An IYC member, Tony Ebiowe, said the meeting became rowdy when aggrieved members accused politicians, including Kuku, of acting a script that would exclude some persons from contesting the election.
But the Head of Media and Communications of the Presidential Amnesty Office, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, described the protest and rowdiness of the meeting as normal.
According to him, such an atmosphere is normal in any political gathering.
He said, “It is not a serious issue and it is not about the Special Adviser, Kingsley Kuku. But the issue is about fashioning a peaceful way for the conduct of the IYC election.
“The SA has been playing the role of a peacemaker due to the divergent positions of some members of the IYC and as one of the IYC past leaders, he has been playing his elderly role. The shooting incident was an accident and not intended to injure anyone. The youth is well and okay.”
Also, the spokesman for IYC, Mr. Jeremiah Oweipele, denied the attack on Kuku, saying he was rather celebrated for solving one of the problems in the association.
He said excited youths, who crowded Kuku and pleaded with him to stay a little longer at the meeting, created a situation that looked like a crisis.
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