Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark seeks withdrawal of rail stations named after Jonathan, Awolowo

Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, has said the naming of railway stations after former President Goodluck Jonathan and the late Premier of defunct Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, belittled them.

He said Dr. Jonathan, as a former President, and given the late Awolowo’s political stature, deserved greater honours. 

The former President had thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for the gesture.

But Clark said lumping together some other less prominent people with the two eminent citizens was unacceptable.

He urged President Buhari to withdraw the honours.

Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi recently said the President approved the renaming of the railway station at Agbor, Delta State, as Goodluck Jonathan Railway Station and Complex.

Clark said his people saw the gesture as degrading as, according to him, it was shared with people who had not achieved what the two Nigerian leaders had accomplished.

“One is not in any way adducing that the others are not deserving of the honour bestowed on them, but the same way official responsibilities differ in importance and risks, same consideration should be borne in mind when honouring people,” Clark said.