By Favour Bibaikefie

WARRI — Indigenous Ijaw and Urhobo leaders of the Warri Federal Constituency have declared their acceptance of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s intervention in the ongoing ward delineation dispute in Warri, while firmly warning against any further alteration of the delineation report released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on May 20, 2026.

The position was contained in a joint press briefing issued on June 14, 2026, by leaders of the two ethnic nationalities following a stakeholders’ meeting convened by President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on June 11.

According to the leaders, the dispute arose after INEC released the report of the Supreme Court-ordered fresh delineation of the Warri Federal Constituency, creating twenty Registration Areas/Electoral Wards across Warri North, Warri South and Warri South-West Local Government Areas, alongside additional state constituencies and a proposed second federal constituency.

The Ijaw and Urhobo leaders noted that while the INEC report was widely welcomed by stakeholders and accepted by their people, its implementation was subsequently halted following a presidential directive, leading to protests and agitations across the constituency.

The briefing stated that the protests included “peaceful occupation of Oil and Gas Flow Stations and the blockade of the Escravos River,” actions which eventually attracted the attention of President Tinubu and prompted the emergency stakeholders’ meeting.

The leaders disclosed that during the meeting, President Tinubu urged the Ijaw, Itsekiri and Urhobo ethnic nationalities to embrace peace and compromise.

“The President at the meeting drawing inspiration from the National Anthem called on the Ijaws, Itsekiris and Urhobos of Warri to see themselves as brothers and sisters, though language and tongue may differ,” the statement said.

They further revealed that President Tinubu identified the major issue as the composition of electoral wards in Warri South-West Local Government Area and proposed a re-adjustment of the ward structure between the Ijaw and Itsekiri ethnic nationalities.

According to the briefing, the President directed that the ward composition in Warri South-West should be adjusted “to a ratio of Eleven (11) to the Ijaws and Nine (9) to the Itsekiris.”

The leaders emphasized that the President did not alter the ward composition for Warri North and Warri South Local Government Areas.

“The INEC report of 20th May, 2026 on Registration Areas/Electoral Wards composition/structure for Warri North and Warri South Local Government Areas was not discussed and remained untouched,” the statement noted.

President Tinubu also reportedly directed the drafting of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on power sharing and rotation among the three ethnic nationalities in the Warri Federal Constituency.

The briefing disclosed that representatives of the Ijaw, Itsekiri and Urhobo groups subsequently met with the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and officials of the Department of State Services in Abuja on June 12 to work on the proposed agreement.

However, the Ijaw and Urhobo leaders accused the Itsekiri delegation of frustrating efforts to reach a broader power-sharing agreement.

They alleged that while the Ijaw and Urhobo representatives proposed the rotation of federal constituency seats, local government chairmanship positions and commissioner appointments, the Itsekiri delegation opposed the inclusion of some of the proposals.

“We state that, this was an obvious ploy by the Itsekiri delegation to truncate the Presidential intervention and signing of MOU to resolve the issues arising from the implementation of the Supreme Court ordered fresh delineation of Warri Federal Constituency of Delta State,” the leaders stated.

They further described the position of the Itsekiri delegation as “a complete disrespect to the Person and Office of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces who called for holistic power sharing in the Warri Federal Constituency without exceptions for sustainable peace.”

Despite their reservations, the Ijaw and Urhobo leaders said they agreed, on the advice of the National Security Adviser and in deference to President Tinubu, to proceed with an agreement covering only the proposed Warri Federal Constituency II.

The leaders also expressed dissatisfaction with the adjustments made to the delineation exercise, insisting that the original INEC field report reflected the demographic realities of Warri South-West Local Government Area.

“It would be recalled that, the INEC raw field report recommended only Four (4) Registration Areas/Electoral Wards for Itsekiris in Warri South West LGA because of their small population and communities and Fourteen (14) for the Ijaws who are the obvious majority with about Seventy-Five percent (75%) of the population, landmass and communities in Warri South West LGA,” the statement said.

According to the briefing, political interventions subsequently increased the number of wards allocated to Itsekiri areas in Warri South-West from four to nine and increased their wards in Warri North from eight to ten.

The leaders argued that these adjustments resulted in a reduction of Ijaw wards from twenty-seven to twenty-four across the three Warri local government areas, while Itsekiri wards increased from twenty-one to twenty-seven.

“This is obvious injustice against the Ijaws and Urhobos of Warri,” they asserted.

Going forward, the Ijaw and Urhobo leaders said they had reluctantly accepted President Tinubu’s intervention “as mark of respect for the President and in the interest of peace,” but warned that they would resist any further modification of the May 20 INEC report.

They maintained that “INEC must not do any alteration to 20th day of May, 2026 report in any form whatsoever and under any circumstances.”

The leaders also called on the electoral commission to upload the final Registration Areas and Polling Units report to its portal and immediately commence voter registration and transfer exercises in the newly created electoral units.

“We state in conclusion that any further delay in the implementation of the delineation report and attempt to alter the report would amount to betrayal of trust by the Federal Government and INEC, and we should not be blamed for the likely consequences that would follow,” the statement concluded.

The press briefing was signed on behalf of the Indigenous Ijaws and Urhobos of Warri Federal Constituency by Chief Godspower Gbenekama, Olorogun Victor Okumagba, Chief Denbo-Denbofa Oweikporodor, Chief John Eranvor, Chief Arthur Akpodubakaye, Chief David Reje, Hon. Samuel Ako and Chief Sylvester Femi Okumagba.