John Dungs

Who was John Dungs?

John David Dungs served as Military Administrator of Delta State from August 1996 until August 1998 during the military regime of General Sani Abacha. In August 1990, Lieutenant Colonel Dungs was a member of the multinational force in Liberia when a gunboat was seized, capturing 27 rebels.

Warri in Delta State is the location of an oil refinery, petrochemical plant and deep-water river port. As governor, in March 1997 Dungs moved the headquarters of the Warri local government area from Ogbe-Ijoh, an Ijaw town, to Ogidigben in the Itsekiri area. The decision caused an outburst of violence among the Ijaw, Itsekiri and Urhobo people of the area, known as the Warri Crisis. Defending his record as Delta State governor in an October 2009 interview, Dung said "... we did the little we could do. What we had we used it to develop the area" and mentioned his unrealized plans to develop the region into a tourist area. He expressed optimism about the recent problems of the Niger Delta, saying that the governors were becoming more realistic.

Dungs was a candidate to become the People's Democratic Party candidate in the 2007 governorship elections for Plateau State. In April 2009, Dung was an unsuccessful contender to become traditional ruler of the Berom people in Jos.