The Ijaw Publishers' Forum, IPF, the apex Ijaw media council, has challenged the Delta State government to make public the list of projects allocated to Ijaw communities in the oil-rich state as alleged to by the Delta State governor's aide and Director General on Orientation and Communication, Dr. Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe.

The IPF's reaction is coming in response to a statement credited to Dr. Oghenesivbe at a radio public affairs network programme in Lagos where he allegedly stated that the 2025 budget of N979 billion contained massive projects for the Ijaw riverine communities and that the Oborevwori administration had empowered over 250 entrepreneurs through the ministry of women affairs.

The DG was quoted to have said, "The improved and renewal rural and riverine mega roads and other infrastructural projects that would open intra and inter-trade opportunities are captured in the 2025 approved budget."

But the Ijaw media professionals in a press statement by the group's national President Comrade Ozobo Austin on Tuesday, January 7, 2025, tackled the Delta State government over marginalisation of the oil rich-riverine Ijaw communities in the state.

"The government runs on lies and propaganda and that a responsible government feel the pains of the people and not to do a disservice which may add more injury to the unbearable pains of the people with audio projects," Comr. Ozobo stated.

The Forum emphasised that Delta Ijaw riverine communities have been victims of such beautiful lies of fake (audio) projects over the years, adding that the Ayakoromo Bridge project had over the years suffered such lies.

"Latimore also remarked that Governor Oborevwori had empowered over 250,000 entrepreneurs in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through D-CARES programme ministry of women affairs and the State Bureau for Wealth and Job creation.

"The IPF is miffed at such remarks and viewed it as a scam against the Delta State people, stressing that Ijaw riverine communities and its group with over 30 registered media enterprises are not aware of such opportunities," he added.

The Forum challenged the Director General to publish and name the numbers and location of such projects and benefiting enterprises and businesses.

"We want the Governor Chief Sheriff Oborevwori-led administration to publish names of projects allocated for the Delta Ijaw riverine communities per local government area and money allocated for the Ayakoromo bridge project in the 2025 N979 billion approved budget.

"We also challenge the governor and his aide to publish the names of entrepreneurs and amount of materials or money given to those who benefited from the Ijaw riverine communities in his over 250,000 entrepreneurs, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through D-CARES programme ministry of women affairs and the State Bureau for Wealth and Job creation under his administration."

According to President Ozobo, the IPF view the remarks as a recurrent decimal to continually defraud the Delta Ijaws by successive administrations in the state, adding that, "We will not take such media charades any longer, seeing audio projects beautifully crafted by media engineers like Dr. Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe, who is good at propaganda, playing politics with the Ijaw development in the state."

IPF described the political propaganda of Latimore as a great disservice to the Ijaw Nation by telling lies to boost the ego and image of his pay master, while the Delta Ijaw riverine communities are suffering with no tangible development to count on from the time of Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan and Okowa administrations.

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