Ijaw Icons & Legends

Royal Chief Nengi James-Eriworio is a Community Leader, Philanthropist, Humanitarian and a Peace Advocate. He is the founder and Executive Director of Nengi James Foundation and Talent Search and Advancement Initiative, Non-Governmental Organizations (officially registered with Corporate Affairs Commission) dedicated to Philanthropy, Innovation, Creative works, Talent Hunt, Mentorship and Entrepreneurship Development.

Ndutimi (Timi) Alaibe is a Nigerian technocrat, businessman and politician from Bayelsa State, Nigeria. He is the former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). He was born on the 10th day of June,1962[3] in the Ijaw village of Igbainwari in Opokuma, Bayelsa State, Nigeria, to the family of late Pa Emmanuel Mmadu Alaibe. He is the third of five children. His early life was quite tumultuous and difficult as his parents were of modest, but hardworking background. However, despite his humble beginnings, young Timi encouraged by his parents. When not in school, Timi would accompany his parents to the farm a trip that entailed crossing the river in crude wooden canoe. It was this experience that taught young Timi the importance of hard work, at an early age. This invaluable work ethic has guided him all through his life. When he is not attending to chores or helping his parents in the farm, young Timi spent much of his childhood, with his age mates, frolicking in the local village river, and going fishing with locally made fishing rods and hooks. The bond of friendship he forged with his childhood playmates during those early years of his life are still as strong today. Despite his having achieved great success in life, Timi Alaibe is a man that has never forgotten where he came from. He is purported to feeling most at home in his village of Igbainwari in Opokuma.

Chief Timipre Sylva served as the Executive Governor of Bayelsa State from 2008 to 2012 and later as Nigeria's Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, becoming one of the most prominent Ijaw figures in Nigerian federal governance.

Henry Seriake Dickson served two terms as Executive Governor of Bayelsa State from 2012 to 2020, overseeing significant infrastructure transformation including the Oxbow Lake waterfront and Yenagoa urban development projects.

Known simply as Tompolo, Oweizidei Thomas Ekpemupolo is the most prominent militant commander in Niger Delta history — a complex figure who fought armed struggle against oil company operations, negotiated peace, and became central to Nigeria's Niger Delta amnesty programme.

Samuel Ogbuku serves as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), overseeing the federal agency tasked with developing infrastructure and improving living standards across the nine Niger Delta states.

Senator Douye Diri is the current Executive Governor of Bayelsa State, elected in 2020 and re-elected in 2023. A seasoned legislator and PDP stalwart, he has focused his administration on education, infrastructure, and Bayelsa's Blue Economy potential.