Ikwerre People Dennounces Igbo Identity

By 247thirdeye

Against the notion of Ndigbo long before now that the Ikwerre in Rivers State are their brothers, a Media group from the Ikwerre extraction, Ikwerre Media Practitioners Association of Nigeria (IMPAN)has declared that there is no Identity crisis bedevilling the existence of the Ikwerre race, adding that Ikwerre is not Igbo.

This statement is coming as a refuttal to claims from various quarters especially the article written by one Ifeanyi Maduako on the back page No Identity Crisis, Ikwerre Not Igbo – IMPAN

The Ikwerre Media Practitioners Association of Nigeria, IMPAN has declared that there is no Identity crisis bedevilling the existence of the Ikwerre race, adding that Ikwerre is not Igbo.

This statement is coming as a refuttal to claims from various quarters especially the article written by one Ifeanyi Maduako on the back page of Nigerian Daily Horn Newspaper dated Monday 26th November 2026 that the Ikwerre people were enmeshed in identity crisis owing to the recent pronouncement of the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike that Ikwerre people are not Igbo.

The IMPAN in their statement, reaffirmed that pronouncement of the Governor that there is no Identity crisis with the Ikwerre people.

According to the statement, signed by the National President of the group, High Chief Monday Wehere, “Ikwerre is not Igbo and can never be no matter how the Igbos are obsessed about it. You cannot claim what you don’t have.

“The Executive Governor of Rivers State, The People’s General Nyesom Ezenwo Wike was right in his statement that the Ikwerres are not Igbos. We are solidly behind him on this and can go to any length to defend it.

“Historically, the Ikwerres migrated from the Old Bini Empire. It is a historical fact that became part of our existence since the beginning. How then can the Igbos suddenly start to claim Ikwerre as part of them, just because they want to pull out from Nigeria to become Biafra?

“You can’t force somebody to accept your identity or your ideologies just because you are territorially close to that person and may have some semblance of language.

“For the umpteenth time, we are Ikwerre, and Ikwerre is part of Niger Delta Region of Nigeria and South-South of Nigeria and not Igbo or South East. The Igbos should stop deceiving themselves with unreasonable hallucination of seeing Ikwerre as Igbo”, the statement read. Nigerian Daily Horn Newspaper dated Monday 26th November 2026 that the Ikwerre people were enmeshed in identity crisis owing to the recent pronouncement of the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike that Ikwerre people are not Igbo.

The IMPAN in their statement, reaffirmed that pronouncement of the Governor that there is no Identity crisis with the Ikwerre people.

According to the statement, signed by the National President of the group, High Chief Monday Wehere, “Ikwerre is not Igbo and can never be no matter how the Igbos are obsessed about it. You cannot claim what you don’t have.

“The Executive Governor of Rivers State, The People’s General Nyesom Ezenwo Wike was right in his statement that the Ikwerres are not Igbos. We are solidly behind him on this and can go to any length to defend it.

“Historically, the Ikwerres migrated from the Old Bini Empire. It is a historical fact that became part of our existence since the beginning. How then can the Igbos suddenly start to claim Ikwerre as part of them, just because they want to pull out from Nigeria to become Biafra?

“You can’t force somebody to accept your identity or your ideologies just because you are territorially close to that person and may have some semblance of language.

“For the umpteenth time, we are Ikwerre, and Ikwerre is part of Niger Delta Region of Nigeria and South-South of Nigeria and not Igbo or South East. The Igbos should stop deceiving themselves with unreasonable hallucination of seeing Ikwerre as Igbo”, the statement read