The recent ward creation exercise in Delta State has created tension between two eternal neighbours, Ijaw and Itsekiri – as the former is alleging its exclusion in the allocation of wards by the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DSIEC).
As a result, hundreds of women and youths of Ogbe-Ijoh Warri Urban community in the Warri South West LGA on Monday, marched along the Old NPA axis of the Warri-Sapele Road to the Warri South LGA secretariat, to register their displeasure.
The Ijaw folks called on the Delta State government as well as DSIEC to create a ward for the Ijaws of the area or be ready for a showdown.
According to them, the ward, which was created in the Warri South LGA, should have been given to the Ijaws, whom, they argued, have no representation in the council.
They described the development as an “injustice to the people and a breach on their constitutional right, stressing that the council area has three ethnic groups and it would only be natural justice if they got a representation.
DSIEC had announced the creation of 34 additional wards across 10 Local government areas in the state last Tuesday, in Asaba, it will be recalled.
The distribution as contained in commission’s website are as follows: “Aniocha North (six), Aniocha South (six), Bomadi (one), Ika North East (one), Ika South (two), Oshimili North (six), Oshimili South (six), Patani (one), Ukwuani (four) and Warri South (one),” rounding up the numbers of wards in each of the LGAs to 20.
Miffed by this, Ogbe Ijoh youths had earlier, last Thursday, demanded the immediate reversal of the ward to be solely for the Ijaws, claiming that since the creation of the LGA, Ogbe-Ijoh had only two wards.
Meanwhile, an opinion leader who spoke on behalf of the protesters, Hon. Friday Deinghan, called on Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to address the situation before it escalates and truncates peaceful coexistence among the two ethnic groups.
He stated that neighbouring Itsekiri and Urhobo people who have 10 and nine wards respectively, in the LGA should show “a sense of friendship and fairness, that these people (Ogbe-Ijoh urban area) really need this (ward).”
The protesters bore placards with inscriptions that include “Give us back our ward,” “Without Ijaw ward, no ward creation in Warri South,” “Okowa do not stir up the hornet’s nest,” “Keep the peace in Warri give us our ward; Okowa must give equal rights to the three tribes” and “Warri belongs to three ethnic groups, give us our ward; the Ijaws are peace-loving people,” among others.
The protest witnessed heavy presence of military and police officers, giving fears of a resurgence of the #EndSARS protest.
Chairman of Warri South Local Government Area, Dr Michael Tidi, who doused the tension, pointed out that the new ward emerged from two Federal wards, Okere and Bowen wards, which were merged by DSIEC.
He added that the electoral body might have been constrained by the law which guided its decision, saying “it is not true that their ward was given to the Itsekiris, they were misinformed, the wards were merged to become Okere wards and Bowen wards,” he noted.
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