JUST IN: Ijaw, Urhobo Coalition Group Calls On INEC To Uphold Rule Of Law By Releasing Final Report Of Warri Federal Constituency Delineation Exercise -

By Uche Alvin

PRESS RELEASE

Concerned Indigenous Stakeholders of Warri Federal Constituency, Warri South Local Government Area
TO: The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

CALL FOR THE IMMEDIATE FINALIZATION AND PUBLICATION OF WARD DELINEATION IN WARRI

We, the Concerned Indigenous Stakeholders of Warri Federal Constituency, write this urgent appeal to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to complete and publish the final phase of the Warri ward delineation process without further delay or political manipulation.

The Ijaws of Warri (Ogbe-Ijoh) have long been the rightful and historical owners of key areas in Warri, including GRA, Miller Waterside, NPA, Alder’s Town and their environs. These facts are not only rooted in oral and cultural history but also validated by official colonial documents, government leases and legal frameworks still recognized today.

EVIDENCE OF OWNERSHIP AND LEGITIMACY

Chief Dore Numa, a respected Itsekiri figure, in a documented letter to the Ijaws of Warri (Ogbe-Ijoh), confirmed that he only signed the leases covering Ogbe-Ijoh lands as a government representative under the authority of the Warri Province Resident Commissioner. He affirmed that the lands in question belong to the Ijaws.
Lease B2 (dated 30th July 1906), Vol. 1 – covering NPA/Miller down to the Ogbe-Ijoh Market (360 hectares), and Lease B5 (dated 13th July 1908), Vol. 1 – covering Alder’s Town (180 hectares), both acknowledge Ijaw ownership of these critical portions of Warri.
The Warri Assessment Report of 1927, the Delta State Traditional Rulers and Chiefs Law of 1999, and the Delta State Community Development Law of 2004, among other legal instruments, further affirm the Ijaws of Warri (Ogbe-Ijoh) as rightful stakeholders of these lands.
In the Southern Nigeria Civil Service Handbook of 1904, the British Colonial Government described the Warri District as being populated by Ijaws, citing that “Ewein is the founder of the settlement of Ware (Warri), which is Ogbe-Ijoh.”
The Warri Urban District Council, established by WRLN 177 of 1955, clearly recognized and delineated Ijaw electoral wards: Ogbe-Ijoh Ward C1, Ward C2, and GRA Ward F1.
Historical eyewitness accounts, such as that of Hubbard in 1948 and Pretheroe’s Warri Township Assessment, confirm that Warri Township and the GRA were built on Ijaw (Ogbe-Ijoh) land, specifically belonging to the descendants of Ewein.

REJECTION OF MANIPULATIVE COURT NARRATIVES

Despite multiple attempts and technical victories in court, the Itsekiris have failed to dislodge the Ijaw people from these lands, simply because truth and ancestral rights are on our side. No amount of manipulation, bribery or influence can change these facts.

OUR CALL TO ACTION

We therefore urge INEC to:

Resist all political pressure and ethnic propaganda aimed at delaying justice.

Uphold the rule of law by immediately releasing the final delineation report.

Recognize the sacrifices and patience of the Ijaw people, who have followed the path of peace and legal procedure for over a decade.

We also call on the Federal Government, civil society, the international community, and all lovers of democracy and justice to stand with us in this defining moment.

This is not just about delineation, it is about truth, equity and the dignity of an indigenous people who refuse to be erased from the pages of history.

Signed:
Miebi Thomp
President, Concerned Ijaw Stakeholders,
Warri Federal Constituency