By Austin Ogwuda
BARELY twenty-four hours after the Delta State governor Rt Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori addressed PDP Delta South Leaders and stakeholders at the residence of former governor Emmanuel Uduaghan in Warri where he appealed to aspirants to shun a do-or-die battle over the forthcoming local government elections in the State, it appears that appeal fell on deaf ears.
Already the Ijaws have vowed to resist any attempt to have an Itsekiri person emerging as the next Chairmanship candidate in Warri North Local government Council.
They claimed that they (Ijaws) have been short-changed as both elective and appointive positions were skewed in favour of the Itsekiris in the area.
The Egbema PDP Advocacy Group in a statement on Monday made it clear that the Ijaws in the local government area are definitely not going to fold their hands and allow their Itsekiri neighbours within the same area to trample upon them consistently.
The Townhall gathered that the latest uproar might not be unconnected with purported nomination of an Itsekiri, Mr. Festus Asima, as the PDP Chairmanship candidate for Warri North Council in the coming election.
The group in a statement made available to newsmen in Asaba, signed by Mr Carson Tarilade as Group Chairman, Mr. John Timiyo, Group Secretary and Brandly Coupa, member of Egbema PDP Advocacy Group, stated that “As PDP group of Ijaw extraction in Warri North Local Government Area, we are vehemently opposed to the nomination of an Itsekiri, Mr. Festus Asima, as the PDP flag-bearer for Warri North Local Government Area Council in respect of the forthcoming election.
“It is an insult for only Itsekiri political leaders to sit and decide for the Ijaws without their input and consent. With this so-called nomination, the three key positions of Chairman of Council, Member of the Delta State House of Assembly and the member of the State Executive Council (Commissioner), it means power in Warri North is now effectively and exclusively with the Itsekiri, contrary to the statutory Federal Character Principle; and it would also complete the exclusion of the Egbema Ijaws of the local government area.
“This is an aberration, and it is a heinous act of injustice in any civilized society.
Today, all the symptoms of the obnoxious apartheid regime are present in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State.
“Every successive government has keyed into making it a state policy to exclude the Ijaws in political decisions and provision of infrastructure; and this is in spite of our valuable votes and oil resources. Indeed, we are considered to count for nothing. This has hampered our free and progressive existence in the local government area of our birth.
“The Itsekiri with six Federal Wards as against the Ijaw’s four Wards since 1991, the statement went on, “took the chairmanship position for about 27 years until former Governor Okowa corrected the injustice in 2020 when one of our own, Cpt Smart Asekutu, became th chairman of the council. His tenure just ended in March 2024. They (Itsekiri) have not relinquished the House of Assembly position running for about 33 years with an Itsekiri son, Hon. Fred Martins, serving as the current member. By 2027, the Itsekiris would have had it for 36 years to the exclusion of the Ijaws!
When our amiable Governor Sheriff Oborevwori came to power, he appointed two Commissioners from Warri North but to our chagrin both were Itsekiri. We were told that they were slots given to Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, former governor of the state, and Hon. Michael Diden and Ebosa on one side.
“It seems individuals were considered over and above the Federal Character Principle as enshrined in Section 14 subsection 3 and 4 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the exclusion of the Egbema people.
The section provides: ‘The composition of the government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from few states or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in the government or in any of its agencies.
“The composition of the government of a State, a local government council, or any of the agencies of such government or council, and the conduct of the affairs of the government or council shall be carried out in such a manner as to recognise the diversity of the people…”, the statement added
Source: This Day
