Warri South LGA: Ogbe-Ijoh leaders defend inclusion, back INEC’s delineation

The Ogbe-Ijoh (Ijaw) people have issued a firm rebuttal to recent protests by some Itsekiri groups challenging the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) ongoing delineation of electoral wards and polling units in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State.

Speaking at a press briefing on Friday in Warri amid a mammoth crowd, Ogbe-Ijoh leaders stated that the protests were “misguided” and aimed at distorting historical and legal facts.

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The statement read to the press was jointly signed by Hon. Denbo-Denbofa Oweikpodor, Chief M. Keme, and Comrade Moses Fiyebor on behalf of the Ogbe-Ijoh Kingdom.

They insisted that the Ogbe-Ijoh people are indigenous to Warri South LGA and have long suffered electoral marginalisation, which the current INEC exercise seeks to correct, in line with a Supreme Court judgement delivered on 2 December 2022.

“The Ogbe-Ijoh people have always been part of Warri South. The claim that we are not is a deliberate attempt to misinform the public. Historical records, legal documents, and even past electoral structures confirm our presence and identity within the LGA,” said Hon. Denbo-Denbofa Oweikpodor, the Ijaw Focal Person.

The group explained that the issue of their inclusion in Warri South had been previously addressed during several INEC stakeholder meetings, where it was resolved, based on intelligence reports and legal documents, that Ogbe-Ijoh communities are an integral part of the LGA.

They added that even the Itsekiri representatives present at those meetings acknowledged this fact.

In reference to the INEC fieldwork, the Ogbe-Ijoh leaders clarified that specific teams were dispatched to the Ijaw areas such as Ewein, Bulou-Ama, Ogbe-Ijoh, Warri Urban and parts of the GRA wards.

“These are Ijaw communities known to all. It is deceitful for anyone to claim otherwise,” said Chief M. Keme.

The statement also referenced the historical development of Warri, asserting that Ogbe-Ijoh is the earliest known settlement in the area.

“Warri started from Ogbe-Ijoh,” said Comrade Moses Fiyebor. “In 1955, we had four electoral wards under the Warri Urban District Council. These were: Alders Town B3, Ogbe-Ijoh C1, Ogbe-Ijoh C2, and Government Area F1.”

The leaders lamented that the 1976 Local Government reforms introduced under the military regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo led to the dismantling of these wards, effectively splitting the Ijaw population across different wards—Pessu, GRA, Bowen, and Okere—where they became minorities.

“The ongoing delineation simply seeks to correct decades of electoral injustice,” the leaders said. “It is not a new invention, but a return to a just structure that existed long before those protesting were born.”

They further stressed that various legal instruments—including the Chiefs Law of 1957 and the Delta State Traditional Rulers Law of 2006—recognise Ogbe-Ijoh as a distinct kingdom with its own traditional authority, separate from the Itsekiri. A 2023 Court of Appeal judgement (CA/AS/441/2016) also reaffirmed this separation.

While commending INEC for its “resilience in the face of pressure and litigation,” the Ogbe-Ijoh delegation called on the Commission to go further by creating at least five homogenous wards for the Ijaw communities in Warri Urban.

They also called for the creation of additional state Constituency for the Ijaws of Warri South LGA on the grounds that the Itsekiris and Urhobos already have their own Constituency.

“If we had four wards as far back as 1955, surely we deserve more today, not less. We urge INEC to ignore the frivolous protests by the Itsekiris and continue its fair and lawful delineation process,” Oweikpodor said.