Warri Ijaws Back INEC Delineation Report, Accuse Remi Tinubu of Interference
.....Call for Additional Electoral Wards and State Constituency**
By EgbemaVoice,
The Ijaw people of Warri South Local Government Area have endorsed the final report of the Supreme Court-ordered delineation of the Warri Federal Constituency by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), describing the exercise as a fair reflection of realities on the ground and a significant step towards correcting decades of political marginalisation.
Speaking during a press briefing held in Ogbe-Ijoh, Warri, the group said the report released by INEC on May 20, 2026, largely captured the demographic and electoral realities of the area and deserved commendation.
The briefing, signed by Ijaw leaders including Hon. Denbo-Denbofa Oweikpodor, Chief M. Keme and Comrade Moses Fiyebor, was convened to present the Ijaw position on the delineation exercise and address what they described as misleading narratives being promoted by some neighbouring ethnic groups and influential political figures.
According to the group, the fresh delineation exercise validated the existence and electoral relevance of Ijaw communities in Warri South LGA, while also recognizing their long-standing demand for equitable political representation.
The Ijaws welcomed INEC's decision to delineate their electoral wards and registration areas into Warri South Constituency II of the Delta State House of Assembly, stating that the development aligned with the aspirations of their people.
The group, however, faulted claims by some members of the Itsekiri ethnic nationality that the Ogbe-Ijoh Ijaws were not part of Warri South Local Government Area.
Read the full press briefing below:
IJAWS OF WARRI SOUTH LGA
No. 5 Swamp Road, Ogbe-Ijoh,
GRA, Warri.
08032926933; 08037108087
May 24, 2025
PRESS BRIEFING BY THE IJAWS OF WARRI SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA ON THE FINAL REPORT OF THE SUPREME COURT ORDERED DELINEATION OF WARRI FEDERAL CONSTITUENCY OF DELTA STATE RELEASED ON THE 20TH DAY OF MAY, 2026 INEC
Gentlemen of the Press,
1. This is a press briefing by the Ijaws of Warri South Local Government Area on the final report of the Supreme Court ordered delineation of Warri Federal Constituency of Delta State in SC/413/2016: HON. GEORGE U. TIMINIMI & ORS V. INEC.
2. We decided to call this press briefing to state our specific position on the final report of the delineation exercise released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Warri South Local Government Area and also to correct the wrong impressions being created in some quarters by some of our neighbours and highly placed individuals in government such as Senator Remi Tinubu, the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
3. We the Ijaw people of Warri South welcome the final report of the fresh delineation exercise which was released by INEC to stakeholders in Asaba, Delta State on Wednesday, the 20th day of May, 2026. The INEC’s final report to a very large extent reflects the reality on ground and we commend the Commission for doing a very thorough job. We also accept the delineation of the Ijaw electoral wards/registration areas into Warri South constituency 11 of the Delta State House of Assembly. That decision reflects the wishes and aspirations of the Ijaw people of Warri South Local Government Area.
4. However, we also want to use this press briefing to correct some misconceptions been created by some of our neigbouring ethnic groups in Warri South Local Government Area, especially the Itsekiri ethnic group.
5. MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE POLLING UNITS AND ELECTORAL WARDS/REGISTRATION AREAS CREATED FOR THE IJAWS OF WARRI SOUTH LGA IN THE FRESH DELINEATION EXERCISE BY THE INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC):
WHETHER THE IJAW PEOPLE ARE LOCATED IN AND PART OF WARRI SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA?
6. Since the released of the final report, some of our neighbours especially the Itsekiri ethnic nationality have been promoting a misleading narrative that the Ijaws (Ogbe-Ijoh) people are not part of Warri South LGA.
7. In the first place and with specific reference to the Supreme Court ordered delineation, the issue of whether the Ijaw (Ogbe-Ijoh) people are part of Warri South Local Government Area or not was raised at the stakeholders meeting held on 21st day of March, 2024 at Asaba by the Itsekiris, reflected in the minutes of the said meeting and it was dealt with in the meeting of INEC National Leadership with Focal Persons of Ijaw, Itsekiri and Urhobos at the Government House Annex, Warri, Delta State on the 8th day of July, 2024 prior to the assignment of field workers to the respective settlements within the Warri South Local Government Area. The meeting had in attendance two INEC National Commissioners, namely Prof. Rhoda Gumus and Dr. Baba Bila and it was resolved that from available intelligence reports, physical communities on ground and existing electoral polling units, the Ijaw (Ogbe-Ijoh) people are integral part of Warri South Local Government LGA.
8. It was on this basis that, a team of INEC Field Officers were assigned to the Ijaw areas in Warri South LGA, just as INEC Field Officers were assigned to the Itsekiri and Urhobo areas. Furthermore, the INEC field officers assigned to the Ijaw areas were the ones who covered the Ijaw areas covered by the newly created Ewein, Bulouama, Ogbe-Ijoh Warri Urban and part of GRA wards/registration areas. The INEC field officers assigned to Itsekiri and Urhobo areas did not and could not have covered these areas because they are indigenous Ijaw communities/settlements, where the Ijaws resides to the knowledge of all persons and authorities.
9. If there is any evidence of Ijaw ownership and existence in Warri South LGA, there cannot be any better evidence than our physical presence herein in Ogeb-Ijoh Warri Urban Community to address gentlemen of the press. All the communities here are all Ijaw communities occupied by Ijaw people.
10. For historical reasons and for the purpose of guiding the general public, Ogbe-Ijoh, which is an Ijaw settlement is recorded as the first settlement in the present Warri City along the Ogbe-Ijoh-Warri River in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State. Indeed, the present Warri township started from Ogbe-Ijoh. The ‘WARRI TOWNSHIP ASSESSMENT REPORT’ by Mr Prethoroe dated 12th June 1928 (Federal Republic of Nigeria, Federal Ministry of Education, National Archives, Chief Secretary’s Office, Nigeria, File No. 20653) unequivocally state as follows:
‘‘The township of WARRI, in marked contrast to the village of OLD WARRI, is of recent growth. The original settlement, which in due course became the nucleus around which the population settled, was known as OGBE-IJOH and the name is still retained to define that portion of the town around the present market. As the name indicates, OGBE-IJOH was originally an Ijaw settlement and translated literally means, I am informed, ‘‘the Ijaw fish market’’. I have been unable to trace any information, either verbally or documentary, which will assist in any way in dating the foundation of OGBE-IJOH. It is wrong to say that there is evidence that the settlement is not more than a century old and that down to comparatively recent times, the settlements was small and supported a very meagre population. The Ijaw fishermen, always more at home in their canoes than on land, fished up and down the stretch of water which now forms the Warri anchorage and made use of the settlement to sell their catches. In the main, the purchasers came from the old established Sobo hamlet of AGBASA and the more recent Jekri village of Okere’’. (underlying supplied for emphasis)
11. The foregoing factual facts were also confirmed by Chief Dore Numa, who was the Leader of the Itsekiri people in his letter to the Resident of Warri Province in 1923. Copies of the Warri Assessment Report of 1928 and the Chief Dore Numa’s letter are all attached as Annexures to this letter. The Ijaw (Ogbe-Ijoh) people physically occupy their areas in Warri Township till date.
12. Furthermore, in 1955, when the first local administrative structure was established and electoral delineation done in Warri City, the Ijaw (Ogbe-Ijoh) people were included in the Warri Urban District Council together with a section of Urhobo and Itsekiri as defined by Western Region Laws of Nigeria No 177 of 1955. The former Warri Urban District Council is the present Warri South LGA. The said law created four autonomous electoral wards for the Ijaw people of Ogbe-Ijoh, which were– Alders town B3, Ogbe-Ijoh Ward C1, Ogbe-Ijoh Ward C2 and Government Area F1. Copy of the Gazette establishing the Warri Urban District Council is hereby attached.
13. The 1963 National Census was carried out with this structure showing the Ijaw (Ogbe-Ijoh) population and this structure with elected Ogbe-Ijoh Councillors remained operational till sometime in 1976, when the Olusegun Obasanjo’s Military Government introduced local Government reforms giving birth to the present local Government structure.
14. The introduction of Local Government Administration and the subsequent delineation of electoral wards in the area concerned led to the balkanization of the hitherto homogenous Ijaw four wards in Warri South LGA into mere polling units in different wards mainly as minorities. The electoral wards that, the Ijaw settlements were balkanized into before the Supreme Court Ordered delineation of electoral wards were Pessu, GRA, Bowen and Okere wards. The Ijaw (Ogbe-Ijoh) areas were balkanized into these electoral wards and thereby making them minorities and politically weak. The fact that the Ijaw (Ogbe-Ijoh) areas were balkanized into polling units, marginalised and denied of political representation does not mean that the Ijaws do not exist in Warri South Loca Government Area before the Supreme Court ordered delineation.
15. Since the 1976 balkanization of the Ijaw homogenous four electoral wards, we have always protested and made known to successive electoral bodies of the need to balance the lopsided electoral wards in Warri South Local Government. This was without much success before a group of patriotic Ijaw men sought legal redress leading to the celebrated and historic Supreme Court judgement of December 2nd, 2022 in SC/413/2016: HON. GEORGE U. TIMINIMI & ORS V. INEC.
16. It is these Ijaw areas previously delineated in 1955 as Alder's town B3, Ogbe-Ijoh C1, Ogbe-Ijoh C2 and Government area F1, that the INEC Field Officers assigned to the Ijaw areas visited from the 10th day of July, 2024 to 19th day of July, 2024 and delineated as Bulou-Ama Ward 02, Ewein Ward 07 and Ogbe-Ijoh Warri Urban Ward 12 and the part of Ogbe-Ijoh areas in the GRA Ward 08. Hence, the delineation of electoral wards and polling units to cover the Ijaw areas in Warri Urban is not a new development, but has been in existence for decades. The recent exercise only seeks to correct an obvious injustice where the Ijaws in Warri South LGA are balkanized and delineated into different polling units and denied representation in the Warri South LGA administration.
17. It is important to note that, contrary to the false impression been created by the Itsekiris, the Ijaw areas have always been separated from the Itsekiri areas in Warri Urban. It is for this reason that, the Chiefs Law of 1957, CAP 19, provides that, the authority of the Itsekiri monarch, the Olu of Warri excludes Ogbe-Ijoh Areas. The 1979 Bendel State Traditional Rulers and Chiefs Edict, B.S.L.N 44, described the Amaokosu of Ogbe-Ijoh as the prescribed authority of Ogbe-Ijoh lands and people in Warri metropolis. This meant that, all the lands of the Ijaw of Ogbe-Ijoh are excluded from claims by the Itsekiri people.
18. Furthermore, the Delta State Traditional Rulers, Chiefs and Council Law, Vol. 3, now cap T3 Laws of Delta State, 2006 recognizes four Clans in Warri Metropolis: Itsekiri Kingdom, where the Olu is the prescribed authority, Okere-Urhobo Kingdom where the Orosuen of Okere-Urhobo is the prescribed authority, Agbassa Kingdom where the Ovie of Agbarha is the prescribed authority and the Ogbe-Ijoh Kingdom where the Amaokosu of Ogbe-Ijoh is the prescribed authority of Ogbe-Ijoh Kingdom in Warri metropolis.
19. The purpose of the above laws is to the effect that, the Ogbe-Ijoh Kingdom and their lands in Warri metropolis in Warri South Local Government Area are excluded from the claim of the Itsekiri people. This position has been confirmed by the Court of Appeal in Appeal No CA/AS/441/2016 in a judgement delivered on the 5th of June, 2023.
COURT CASE
20. It is also important to state that, the Itsekiris have no judgment against the Ijaws of Ogbe-Ijoh which confer a radical title on them over Ogbe-Ijoh lands in Warri metropolis or anywhere else. All noise about legal victories over the Ijaws is unfounded and fictitious.We urge INEC and the general public to disregard the falsehoods, even though they are not relevant to the fresh delineation of electoral wards and polling units for the conduct of future elections.
21. A CALL ON FIRST LADY REMI TINUBU TO ALLOW THE IJAWS OF WARRI BREATH AND STOP THE OPPRESSION
22. Since, the election of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Itsekiris have made the First Lady, Senator Remi Tinubu as the Police of Warri who would not allow the Ijaws of Warri breath. The First Lady has been at the forefront of the consistent attempts to frustrate the Supreme Court ordered fresh delineation process and deny the Ijaws in general and the Ijaws of Warri South LGA the opportunity to electoral wards/registration areas in order to enable us participate in the electoral process.
23. The Ijaws of Warri South LGA are indigenous people and have a right to electoral wards/registration areas. It is an act of oppression for the First Lady to be using her position to frustrate efforts at allowing the Ijaws political participation.
24. We call on the first Lady, Senator Remi Tinubu to use her position to develop Itsekiri communities and not to oppress Ijaw people. When Mariam Babangida was first Lady, she used her influence to make Asaba, the Capital of Delta State and the people of Asaba are enjoying the benefit of their daughter been first lady till date.
25. However, in the case of Senator Remi Tinubu, she is using her office as instrument of oppression. The First lady is doing everything possible to make INEC withdraw the three wards that have been created for the Ijaws of Warri South LGA. We wish to warm that, the oppressive actions of the first lady against the Ijaws of Warri and Warri South LGA in particular may lead to avoidable crisis and constitute problem for her husband’s government.
26. It would be recalled that the relocation of the headquarters of Warri South West LGA from Ogbe-Ijoh, an Ijaw community to Ogidigben, a Itsekiri that led to the unfortunate Warri crisis of 1997 to 2003. The actions of First Lady may lead to same result, if caution is not applied.
27. Senator Remi Tinubu who is an Itsekiri from Ogbolokposo Community in Uvwie Local Government Area has no business with Warri Township. Ogbolokposo is not part of Warri Township and therefore she is not from Warri Township and cannot determine who should get electoral wards in Warri Township. The Ogbe-Ijoh people are indigenous people in Warri Township and have rights to electoral wards/polling units.
28. We advise that the First Lady should be Mother to All the people and ethnic groups in Warri and not champion of Itsekiri agenda. Warri need development and not oppression of indigenous Ijaw people.
29. CONCLUSION
30. In conclusion, we commend the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for being able to complete the delineation process despite series of litigation against the Commission by the Itseikiri Ethnic Nationality. We also commend the Commission in Warri South Local Government for being fair to all the ethnic nationalities and stakeholders. However, the Ijaw people state that, their areas should have been delineated into at least five homogenous electoral wards. If the Ijaw people had four electoral wards as far back as 1955, it is only fair for the number to be increased decades after. We therefore, call for the creation of more electoral wards and State Constituency for Ijaws in Warri South LGA and also urge the Independent National Electoral Commission to disregard frivolous protests against the delineation exercise in Warri South LGA.
Sign for Ijaws (Ogbe-Ijoh) people of Warri South LGA:
-------------------------------------------------
Hon. Denbo-Denbofa Oweikpodor
(Ijaw Focal Person)
-----------------------------------
Chief M. Keme
--------------------------------
Comrade Moses Fiyebor
Copy to:
ANNEXURES:
1. W. R. L. N 177 of 1955: The Instrument Establishing the then Warri Urban District Council, Ijaw four wards marked (*)
2. Extract of Warri Assessment Report 1928
3. Suit No W/48/1968: IDUNDUN V DANIEL OKUMAGBA
4. SUIT NO CA/AS/441/2016: Ogiame Atuwase II v Delta State Government
5. Chiefs Law 1979
6. Delta state Traditional Rulers and Chief Law 1998
7. Chief Dore Numa’s Letter to the Resident, Warri Division.
8. 1963 Census of Warri Urban District Council.
Comments