Ikwere Group Opposes Planned ‘Igbo Fest’ in Port Harcourt, Warns of Potential Breakdown of Law and Order
The Ikwere People’s Association (IPA) has strongly opposed a proposed cultural event titled “Igbo Fest” scheduled to take place in Port Harcourt on July 27, 2025, warning that the gathering could spark unrest and threaten public order in Rivers State.
In an open letter addressed to the Inspector-General of Police and published as an advertorial in the Midweek Surveillance newspaper, IPA described the planned event by the Igbo community in Port Harcourt as “provocative” and alleged it poses a serious risk to law and order.
The group cited intelligence reports suggesting that the celebration could be used as a platform to incite chaos and pursue a hidden political agenda.
Signed by High Chief Monday Wehere JP, President of IPA, and Hon. Opurum Loveday, Assistant Secretary General, the letter declared that “Ikwere people are not Igbos” and questioned the decision to host such an event in Port Harcourt despite the availability of several Igbo-majority state capitals where the event could be more appropriately held.
IPA further claimed that certain groups within the Igbo community intended to use the Igbo Fest as a cover to instigate disorder in Rivers State, including plans to import “agent provocateurs” and “muscle-bound thugs” to protect the event and allegedly impose a sit-at-home directive akin to those issued in parts of the South-East.
The association stated that it, along with other Pan-Ikwere organisations, view the planned gathering as an attempt to sow division, disturb the peace of Port Harcourt, and potentially launch a campaign to declare Rivers as part of an “Igbo State.”
“This is the secret agenda behind the July 27 celebration,” the statement alleged, warning that allowing the event to proceed could lead to “a downward slide to social anarchy.”
IPA called on the Inspector-General of Police to urgently intervene and stop the event before tensions escalate, saying the planned gathering “has become the subject of heightened public interest, and the dire consequences of allowing it to proceed will unleash a catastrophic response that may be difficult to contain.”
The association copied several top political and security stakeholders in the state and federal government, including the Minister of the FCT, the Rivers State Police Commissioner, DSS officials, traditional rulers, and members of the National Assembly, urging them to act swiftly.
As tensions simmer, the statement from IPA underscores deep-seated identity and territorial sensitivities in the Niger Delta region, raising new concerns over interethnic relations and the role of cultural events in an already politically complex environment.
