Ijaw Youth Leaders to Delta Governor: Don’t Be Misled — Justice Must Prevail in Warri
…Blast Itsekiri Group’s False Claims of Sole Ownership
The leadership of Ijaw kingdoms from Warri Federal Constituency has issued a formal response to the recent open letter published by the Movement for the Protection of Iwere Homeland, Development and History (MPIHDH), addressing issues of political representation and ward structure in the area.
In a strongly worded counter rejoinder dated May 28, 2025, presidents of youth councils from five Ijaw kingdoms — Gbaramatu, Egbema, Ogbe-Ijoh, Isaba, and Diebiri — called on the Governor of Delta State, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, not to be swayed by false narratives and historical distortions.
The leaders — Comr. Kingsley Arerebo E. (President, Gbaramatu Youth Council), Barr. Amatelemowei A. Sode (President, Egbema Youth Council), Amb. Ekpoperemene Victor Akemotubo (President, Ogbe-Ijoh Warri Kingdom Youth), Comr. French Ikada (President, Isaba Federated Youth), and Comr. Quinton Tekedor (President, Diebiri Youth Council) — described the claims made by the Itsekiri socio-cultural group, MPIHDH, as misleading, provocative, and fundamentally inconsistent with both historical facts and demographic realities.
The Ijaw youth leaders said the open letter by the Itsekiri group misrepresented the facts regarding ward allocation and political inclusion across Warri South, Warri North, and Warri South-West Local Government Areas.
According to the group, the current ward structure is imbalanced, with the Ijaws receiving fewer electoral wards despite having a larger population in some areas. In Warri South-West, for example, they cited the 1991 population census, which recorded Ijaws as 63% of the population, yet allocated only 4 wards to them, while the Itsekiris with 37% hold 6 wards.
In Warri North, the leaders highlighted the lack of ward representation for the Egbema-Ijaw people, despite their population strength in communities such as Polobubo and its environs. They also noted that key political positions in Warri North — including the Local Government Chairman, State House of Assembly member, and Commissioners — are all currently held by Itsekiris.
The Ijaw youth leaders also refuted MPIHDH’s assertion that Warri is exclusively the homeland of the Itsekiris. They emphasized that Warri is shared by indigenous Ijaw communities — including Gbaramatu, Egbema, Isaba, Diebiri, and Ogbe-Ijoh — and stated that these groups have long-standing historical roots in the area.
They further defended the recent comments by Mr. Charles Aniagwu, a Delta State Government official, who had highlighted the need to address imbalances in representation. The youth leaders said Aniagwu’s position reflects the concerns of marginalized groups and should be viewed as a call for equity.
Read full statement below:
OPEN LETTER
THE LEADERSHIP OF IJAW KINGDOMS OF WARRI FEDERAL CONSTITUENCY
May 28, 2025
His Excellency,
Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori,
Executive Governor of Delta State,
Government House, Asaba.
Your Excellency,
COUNTER REJOINDER TO THE OPEN LETTER BY THE ITSEKIRI SOCIO-CULTURAL GROUP MPIHDH, ADDRESSED TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR OF DELTA STATE, ON THE ISSUE OF POLITICAL REPRESENTATION AND WARD STRUCTURE IN WARRI FEDERAL CONSTITUENCY
We write as concerned Ijaw stakeholders, political observers, and defenders of equity in Delta State to respond to the inflammatory, misleading, and historically revisionist open letter issued by the Movement for the Protection of Iwere Homeland, Development and History (MPIHDH) on May 26, 2025.
Contrary to their emotional claims of marginalisation and alleged victimhood, the facts and lived reality of political dynamics in Warri Federal Constituency — Warri South, Warri North, and Warri South-West — tell a different story. One of systematic exclusion of Ijaw and Urhobo communities from proportional representation, and the urgent need for a truly equitable redress.
1. THE CORE ISSUE: LOPSIDED WARD STRUCTURE
Mr. Charles Aniagwu’s comments reflect the long-standing, data-supported grievances of the Ijaw and Urhobo peoples in the Warri Federal Constituency. The issue is not about Itsekiri persecution, but about the imbalance in electoral ward delineation where according to the 1991 population census people with 63% population were given lesser wards, and people with about 37% population were given more wards, a matter so egregious that the Supreme Court of Nigeria deemed it necessary for INEC to conduct a fresh delineation.
•Warri South-West LGA, for instance, has six (6) wards for the Itsekiri and four (4) for the Ijaw, despite Ijaws having 63% population as against Itsekiris having 37% population as embedded in the 1991 population census.
•In Warri North, the Ijaw (Egbema) people remain marginalised with no equitable ward allocation, while the Itsekiri dominate despite the obvious fact that Ijaws in Polobubo Community and their sub-communities alone outnumbers the entire Itsekiri people in Warri North. To make matters worse is the pathetic case of the Egbema Ijaws of Warri North were currently the Itsekiris are occupying the Chairman of the LGA., State House of Assembly and the two Commissioners in the Delts State Executive Council.
Thus, to gloss over these facts and portray the Itsekiri as benevolent “givers” of political positions is to deny the very structural inequities that have long defined politics in these areas.
2. THE MYTH OF EXCLUSIVITY OVER WARRI
It is both factually and constitutionally incorrect to claim, as MPIHDH does, that Warri Federal Constituency is the exclusive ancestral homeland of the Itsekiri. The Ijaw (specifically the Gbaramatu, Egbema, Isaba Diebiri and Ogbe-Ijoh clans) and the Urhobo (especially in Okere-Urhobo, Agbarha-Warri, and Uvwie territories) are aborigines to the land they occupy with long-standing, historically rooted presence in these areas that predates the Itsekiris entire existence in Warri. This is according to William A. Moore, a royal Prince of Iwere land. Warri is a shared space, and the attempt to present it as solely Itsekiri-owned is a divisive narrative that has fuelled decades of tension and unrest.
The Nigerian Constitution guarantees the rights of all citizens and ethnic groups to political participation and representation, especially in areas where they reside and contribute socially, economically, and demographically.
3. HISTORICAL REVISIONISM AND DISTORTION
MPIHDH’s open letter rewrites the painful chapters of Warri’s history to absolve one ethnic group and scapegoat others. The violent crises of the late 1990s and early 2000s were tragic for all sides, Ijaw, Urhobo, and Itsekiri. To weaponise these memories selectively against the Ijaw is not only dishonest but dangerous.
Moreover, the relocation of the Warri South-West Local Government Headquarters from Ogidigben to Ogbe-Ijoh was a response to the on-the-ground reality of conflict, accessibility, and population dynamics, not an injustice. If anything, it represented an effort by the government to mediate between competing interests and reduce flashpoints of ethnic violence.
4. DEBUNKING CLAIMS OF GENEROSITY
MPIHDH claims that Itsekiris voluntarily rotates political positions out of goodwill. But representation is not a gift to be given or withheld at will — it is a constitutional right. And suppose indeed the Itsekiris think they were in any way just to their neighbours in the situation where wards were allocated unjustly without recourse to population, Why are they scared of doom in the case when justice is served by the outcome of the recent re-delineation by INEC? The fact that Ijaw and Urhobo candidates have occasionally emerged in certain positions, even though since the creation of the Warri Federal Constituency and when election started in 1959, the Ijaws and Urhobo have never produced the House of Representative position, speaks more to their resilience and the pressure for inclusiveness than to any supposed Itsekiri generosity.
For example:
•In Warri South-West, Ijaw political victories have come despite being disadvantaged by ward distribution.
•In Warri South, Okere-Urhobo remain underrepresented despite their numerical strength and indigenous status.
True equity demands structural correction, not rhetorical charity
5. ON MR. CHARLES ANIAGWU’S COMMENTS
We categorically affirm that Mr. Aniagwu spoke truthfully and responsibly about a matter of public concern. As a government official, his responsibility includes acknowledging and addressing injustices, not reinforcing the political dominance of any group.
Rather than vilify him, he should be commended for boldly stating what many in Delta State know to be true but are afraid to say: that some groups have historically benefitted from imbalances, and that correcting those imbalances is not ethnic warfare, but democratic fairness.
6. THE WAY FORWARD
We reject the zero-sum narrative of MPIHDH. Delta State is home to many ethnic groups who must co-exist peacefully, equitably, and respectfully. The way forward is:
•Full implementation of the Supreme Court’s decision on ward delineation
•Anyone who is not comfortable with the outcome of the ward delineation should approach a competent court of jurisdiction and pursue their case to a logical conclusion, and not incite violence that is capable of breaching the fragile peace in the Delta State.
• The Delta State government should be committed to ensuring that separate Local Government area should be created for the Ijaws, Urhobos, and Itsekiris to ensure lasting peace in Warri.
•the government must direct the Itsekiris from using unprintable names on their neighbours, attacking and burning down communities just as they did to Akpata Community in Gbaramatu Kingdom. A reprisal attack of all these provocative actions could lead to a total breakdown of law and order that could likely forestall the good works of the current Government of Delta State.
CONCLUSION
Let us be clear: The Ijaw and Urhobo of Warri Federal Constituency do not seek domination we seek fairness. We do not ask for handouts, but for what is justly ours under the law. We call on His Excellency the Governor not to be swayed by attempts to weaponise historical distortions, but to stand firm on the path of justice, equity, and true Delta unity.
Signed For the Leadership of Ijaw Kingdoms of Warri Federal Constituency:
:
1. Comr. Kingsley Arerebo. E.
President, Gbaramatu Youths Council
2. Barr. Amatelemowei A. Sode
President, Egbema Youth Council
3. Amb. Ekpoperemene Victor Akemotubo
President, Ogbe-Ijoh Warri Kingdom Youth
4. Comr. French Ikada
President, Isaba Federated Youth
5. Comr. Quinton Tekedor
President, Diebiri Youth Council
