The Ijaws in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State have warned that any attempt to subvert the recent final reports released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on wards delineation in the Warri Federal Constituency could truncate the existing peace in Warri South.

The Ijaws, led by their leaders from Ogbe-Ijoh Community, gave the warning at a press conference held on Saturday at Ogbe-Ijoh Community in Warri South.

They alleged that some influential Itsekiris and prominent political figures were working tirelessly to frustrate the implementation of the delineation exercise in the Warri Federal Constituency.

The signed statement was read by Mr Denbo-Denbofa Oweikpodor on behalf of the people, some of whom were carrying placards with various inscriptions like: “Remi Tinubu, Please do not allow another Warri crisis to happen”, among others.

While endorsing the INEC’s report, the people described the exercise as fair, thorough and a reflection of the realities on ground.

They urged the Commission to disregard frivolous protests against the delineation exercise in Warri South.

It would be recall that the national electoral umpire recently released the report on electoral wards and polling units delineation in Warri Federal Constituency pursuant to the Supreme Court judgment in Suit No. SC/413/2016 between: Hon. George Timinimi & Ors v. INEC.

“We the Ijaw people of Warri South welcome the final report of the fresh delineation exercise released by INEC to stakeholders on May 20, 2026 in Asaba.

“The INEC’s final report, to a very large extent, reflects the reality on ground. We commend the Commission for doing a very thorough job.

“We also accept the delineation of the Ijaw electoral wards and registration areas into Warri South Constituency II of the Delta State House of Assembly.

“However, our communities deserved more electoral wards than those presently created by INEC. If we had four wards as far back as 1955, it is only fair for the number to increase decades later.

“We therefore call for the creation of more electoral wards and state constituency for Ijaws in Warri South LGA,” they said.

The people also said that it was necessary to correct a “misconceptions” allegedly being peddled by the Itsekiri ethnic nationality concerning the existence and status of Ijaw communities in Warri South Local Government Area (LGA)

According to them, some Itsekiri groups were already spreading wrong narratives suggesting that the Ijaw people of Ogbe-Ijoh were not part of Warri South LGA.

The Ijaw leaders said the issue was earlier raised during a stakeholders’ meeting convened by INEC at the Government House Annex, Warri and was addressed by the electoral Commission.

“During the meeting which involved INEC officials and representatives of the Ijaw, Itsekiri and Urhobo ethnic nationalities on July 8, 2024, it was resolved that the Ijaw people were an integral part of Warri South LGA, based on available reports, physical communities on ground and existing polling units.

“INEC subsequently assigned field officers specifically to Ijaw communities during the delineation exercise carried out between July 10 and July 19, 2024.

“The officers covered Ijaw settlements that now constitute the newly created Ewein Ward 07, Bulou-Ama Ward 02, Ogbe-Ijoh Warri Urban Ward 12 and parts of GRA Ward 08,” they said.

The leaders emphasised that the delineation of electoral wards in their areas was not a new development but a restoration of structures that had existed historically before the 1976 local government reforms.

According to them, the 1955 Western Region Laws of Nigeria No. 177 establishing the then Warri Urban District Council, recognised four autonomous Ijaw wards.

They identified the autonomous wards as: Alders Town B3, Ogbe-Ijoh Ward C1, Ogbe-Ijoh Ward C2 and Government Area F1.

The leaders also relied on many historical records, including the 1928 Warri Township Assessment Report prepared by Mr Prethoroe, which according to them, described Ogbe-Ijoh as the original settlement around which present-day Warri developed.

“The original settlement, which in due course became the nucleus around which the population settled, was known as OGBE-IJOH,” the leaders said.

They said that the restructuring of local government administration in 1976 led to the balkanisation of the previously existing homogeneous Ijaw wards into minority polling units spread across Pessu, GRA, Bowen and Okere wards.

Accordingly, they said that the development weakened their political representation and denied them adequate participation in local administration.

“The fact that the Ijaw areas were balkanised into polling units, marginalised and denied political representation does not mean that the Ijaws do not exist in Warri South Local Government Area,” the people said.

The leaders, however, warned that any attempt to reverse the delineation exercise could create tension and destabilise the peace in Warri, recalling that the Warri crisis of 1997 to 2003, followed the relocation of the headquarters of Warri South-West Local Government Area from Ogbe-Ijoh to Ogidigben.

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