JUST IN: Advocacy Group Writes Another Powerful Open Letter To Federal Government, INEC Over Delayed Implementation Of Warri Federal Constituency Ward Delineation Report -

By Esther David

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, INEC AND ALL STAKEHOLDERS: ENOUGH OF THE LIES, ENOUGH OF THE MANIPULATION — LET JUSTICE REIGN

Date: July 17, 2025
Issued by: Ijaw Stakeholders of Warri Federal Constituency

To:

The President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,

The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),

The National Security Adviser,

The Attorney-General of the Federation,

International Human Rights and Electoral Observers,

The People of Nigeria,

We Write in Protest. And Above All, We Write in Truth.

This is not just another petition. This is not another plea from a marginalized people hoping to be noticed. This is an indictment, a firm, unapologetic declaration that enough is enough.

We, the Ijaw people of Warri Federal Constituency, are sounding the alarm to the world, the Nigerian state is knowingly permitting a sustained campaign of falsehood, fraud and historical distortion against our people and we will no longer keep silent.

Our ancestral lands are being claimed by fraudsters, our electoral spaces are being manipulated by criminals in agbada and INEC, a once-revered institution is being blackmailed by ethnic lobbyists who think democracy can be bought with dirty money and political backing.

INEC: THE TIME FOR COWARDICE IS OVER

We dare say it without mincing words, if INEC, under whatever pressure or influence, fails to publish the final delineation that reflects the true indigenous ownership and demography of Warri, then INEC would have successfully become an accomplice in the greatest electoral robbery ever staged in the Niger Delta.

We are not unaware of the relentless pressure and backdoor lobbying being mounted by the Itsekiri elite and their collaborators to suppress the truth. Their tactics are as old as their lies, hide the facts, threaten institutions, bribe officials and twist history.

Let it be on record that Warri is not Itsekiri land. No amount of colonial-era fiction, misapplied court judgments or forged maps can erase the Ijaw and Urhobo ownership of this territory. We are the original landlords not the manipulated tenant kings and media cronies now parading themselves as the “owners of Warri.”

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: YOU CANNOT CLAIM PEACE WHILE FUNDING INJUSTICE

What manner of government keeps quiet while a small ethnic group falsely claims entire lands that belong to others, threatening peace and buying influence in corridors of power with proceeds of oil wealth they don’t even own?

Let it be made crystal clear, no oil well is worth the blood of our people and no amount of state-sanctioned silence will force us into historical amnesia. We have court judgments, colonial records, oral traditions and physical presence on these lands, we don’t need permission to demand what is ours.

Mr. President, we are calling on you not as beggars but as stakeholders in this union. If you allow these Itsekiri falsehoods to stand, if you allow truth to be buried in political convenience, then you have endorsed injustice and declared war on democracy.

A WARNING TO ALL WHO PROFIT FROM OUR SILENCE

To those in the security services who are now pawns in the ethnic chessboard of Warri politics, remember, siding with lies has a price. You may wear the uniform today but you will not escape the judgment of posterity.

To the so-called “Itsekiri leaders,” you have built your empire on forged narratives, paid propaganda and foreign manipulation. But truth is not for sale. We were here before you arrived. We welcomed you, we harbored you and now you spit on our generosity with twisted tales of ownership? History will disgrace you.

OUR DEMANDS ARE SIMPLE — AND NON-NEGOTIABLE

INEC must publish the final delineation report, reflecting the true ownership and demography of Warri Federal Constituency — no more blackmail, no more delay.
The Federal Government must set up an independent inquiry into the land ownership and electoral fraud in Warri, involving neutral historians, legal scholars and local communities.
Security agencies must be withdrawn from acting as tools of intimidation in the hands of ethnic bigots.
The title “Olu of Warri” must be reverted to “Olu of Itsekiri”, to reflect truth and remove the geopolitical insult it presently represents.
All historical documents, court judgments and colonial records proving Ijaw and Urhobo indigeneity must be reviewed and published by the National Archives for public access.

FINAL WORDS

Nigeria is at a crossroad and Warri is the mirror of her soul. If the Ijaw nation, the fourth largest ethnic nationality in this country, can be lied upon, trampled and politically enslaved in broad daylight, then this democracy is already a corpse dressed in fine robes.

We are no longer asking. We are demanding. The land is ours. The truth is ours. History is on our side. And justice, justice must be done.

Let those who have ears, hear. And let those who think we are bluffing, wait.

Signed,

Chief, Tiemopere Joshua
(President)

Chief, Ebikeme T. Godstime
(Secretary)

Ijaw Stakeholders of Warri Federal Constituency