Ijaw Group Writes Open Letter To Federal Government, INEC Over Warri Ward Delineation, Says Delineation Report Must Reflect Reality Not Propaganda -

By Esther David

OPEN LETTER TO INEC, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, NIGERIANS AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

THE ITSEKIRI PANIC: WHEN A HISTORY OF LIES COLLAPSES UNDER THE WEIGHT OF TRUTH

Issued by: Ijaw Stakeholders of Warri Federal Constituency
Date: July 15, 2025

To the Chairman of INEC, the Nigerian Government, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Nigerian people and the watching world:

There is a storm of panic in the Itsekiri camp, loud voices, frantic propaganda, sponsored publications and relentless blackmail. But the question must be asked, why the sudden desperation? Why the coordinated attempt to halt the final ward delineation process in Warri Federal Constituency? The answer is simple, the truth is finally catching up with those who have lived on lies for over a century.

The Itsekiris are terrified because their long-standing manipulation of facts is crumbling. They fear that INEC’s final delineation will reveal what we have always known, that they are a numerical minority masquerading as landlords, that their claims to expansive land ownership are fabricated and that their crown, their title and their kingdom are built on historical distortions, not ancestral reality.

For decades, the Itsekiris have created a myth around themselves, projecting an illusion of dominance over Warri. But myth is not history. Lies are not legacy. They tell the world that Warri belongs to them, yet historical records say otherwise. They scream that the Olu of Warri is king over lands that predate their migration. But we remember. Our ancestors remember. The soil remembers.

The truth is bitter for those who have built their identity on fraud. The Itsekiris came here as settlers, refugees, fleeing from Benin under the leadership of Ginuwa. They found safety and space among the Ijaws and Urhobos, who welcomed them with open arms. We gave them land to live on, but never land to claim. We showed them hospitality but never surrendered our heritage.

Now, those who arrived as guests are attempting to displace the landlords. Now, the ones who found refuge are weaponizing fake histories to lay claim to what does not belong to them. They have forged maps, sponsored textbooks, bribed their way through bureaucracy and even hijacked the media but lies can only go so far.

Their propaganda cannot cover their demographic insignificance. Their fake crown cannot erase our ancestral authority. Their loud blackmail cannot deny the court judgments, colonial documents, land leases, and oral traditions that prove Ijaw ownership of Ogbe-Ijoh, Gbaramatu, Isaba, Egbema, Diebiri, and many other lands.

We see the panic. We understand the desperation. They know that the delineation process will finally strip them of the political advantage they’ve held through falsehood. When the wards are properly delineated based on the actual settlements and indigenous populations, the world will see how much of Warri is Ijaw and Urhobo not Itsekiri.

This is why they are shouting. This is why they are blackmailing INEC. This is why they are writing false rejoinders and inciting division. A house of lies always collapses when truth knocks at the door.

We are calling on INEC to resist the pressure. The delineation must reflect reality, not propaganda. The people of Warri Federal Constituency deserve representation based on truth, not on the whims of a historically manipulative minority.

We call on the Federal Government and the National Security Adviser to intervene and protect the integrity of democracy in Warri. The peace of the region must never be compromised to satisfy the territorial greed of a few who have hijacked the narrative for too long.

We appeal to Nigerians and the international community to see through the Itsekiri deception and stand with justice. This is not just about boundaries, it is about truth, about identity, about correcting a colonial error that empowered one group at the expense of others.

This is the final battle of truth versus lies. The Ijaw people have history on our side. We have the law on our side. And above all, we have truth on our side.

Let the fake crown fall. Let the lies collapse. Let justice stand.

Signed,
Chief Tiemopere Joshua (President)

Chief Ebikeke T. Goodstime
(Secretary)

On behalf of the Ijaw Stakeholders of Warri Federal Constituency