Isoko Stakeholders Reject Senatorial Endorsement, Demand Apology From IDU Leader

Sunday Okobi

A major rift seems to have emerged within the Isoko nation following the controversial endorsement of Senator Joel Onowhakpor Thomas for a second term by the President-General of the Isoko Development Union (IDU), Chris Akpotu.

The Isoko Development Network (IDN), in a strongly worded statement issued yesterday, distanced the Isoko people from the endorsement, describing it as “unconstitutional, premature, and a gross misrepresentation of the collective will of the Isoko nation.”
The statement, signed by Igho Anthony Monina on behalf of IDN, alleged that the IDU President “gate-crashed” a private political gathering in Emede attended by supporters and associates of the senator, where he proceeded to publicly declare support for his re-election.

“This singular act has gone down in history as one of the lowest points in the modern Isoko leadership structure,” the statement noted.
The IDN maintained that the action violated the core principles guiding the IDU as an apex socio-cultural body, emphasizing that its leadership must remain neutral in partisan political contests.
“As President-General of a pan-Isoko organisation, Professor Akpotu is in a fiduciary position that demands fairness, neutrality, and discretion.

“He is expected to act as a father to all Isoko sons and daughters, irrespective of their political affiliations,” the statement further stated.
The group also criticised what it described as an unprecedented move, noting that it is alien to the Isoko tradition for the IDU president to visit a candidate’s residence to endorse him.

IDN said: “It is unheard of in our history that a sitting IDU president would go into the living room of a political aspirant to endorse him for an election.

“This is not only an abuse of office but a direct insult to the collective intelligence of the Isoko people.”
Raising concerns over the motive behind the endorsement, the group added: “The development appears like a cash-backed transaction, as it completely contradicts known norms and best practices within our socio-cultural framework.”
IDN, therefore, questioned whether the IDU President would extend similar endorsements to other aspirants contesting various positions.
It said: “We have multiple candidates for the House of Representatives and over a dozen for the state House of Assembly. Will the president-general visit all their homes to endorse them as well?”

The group in the statement insisted that the purported endorsement does not reflect the position of the wider Isoko stakeholders, stressing that the decision lacked due consultation.
“IDN categorically states that the overwhelming majority of Isoko stakeholders were neither consulted nor carried along in this decision. Therefore, the endorsement is null, void, and of no consequence,” it declared.
Consequently, the group issued a set of demands to the IDU leadership, calling for immediate corrective actions.

“We call on the IDU president to, as a matter of urgency, convene a meeting of Isoko leaders across traditional, political, and religious institutions to explain how he arrived at the conclusion that the entire Isoko nation endorsed Senator Joel Onowhakpor Thomas,” the statement said.
IDN also urged the IDU leadership to refocus on developmental advocacy rather than partisan politics.

“He must redirect his energy toward addressing the pressing challenges facing Isoko land and presenting them to the federal government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, instead of dragging the IDU into avoidable political controversies,” the group said.

Appealing to the public, the group called on Isoko indigenes at home and abroad, as well as neighbouring ethnic nationalities in Delta South, to disregard the endorsement.