The Ndokwa Professional Network (NPN), a socio-cultural organisation in Delta State, has faulted comments by Senator Ned Nwoko claiming that the Ndokwa-Ukwuani people are part of the Igbo ethnic group.
In a strongly worded statement, the group maintained that the Ndokwa-Ukwuani possess a distinct identity and cultural heritage separate from the Igbo people.
The statement, signed by NPN President Mr Nigel Ojji, General Secretary Dr Great Ijomah, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees Dr Edike Kaine, described the senator’s comments as “factually inaccurate, historically misleading, and culturally inconsistent.”
“While we hold Senator Nwoko in high esteem as a respected legislator and advocate of Delta North interests, his recent comments are factually inaccurate, historically misleading, and culturally inconsistent with the established realities of the Ndokwa-Ukwuani people of Delta State,” the statement read.
The group noted that Senator Nwoko, who hails from Idumuje-Ugboko in Aniocha North Local Government Area, is not an indigene of Ndokwa-Ukwuani and therefore may lack firsthand understanding of their ancestry and traditions.
According to NPN, the senator’s long stay abroad may have influenced his interpretation of the region’s ethnolinguistic history.
“Ndokwa-Ukwuani are not Igbo,” the group emphasised, adding that while geographical proximity to South-East states has led to certain cultural overlaps, the people’s roots, governance systems, and ancestral lineage remain distinct.
The organisation called for caution among public figures and researchers when making statements about ethnic identities, warning that such claims could distort the historical and cultural realities of the Ndokwa-Ukwuani people.
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