‘Our Quest for Separate Ijala Ward Non-negotiable’ – Four Itsekiri Communities Demand from INEC

The last may not have been heard of the Ward delineation crisis ravaging Warri as four oil-producing Itsekiri communities in Warri South council area of Delta State, on Sunday demanded the creation of their own separate ward from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Speaking at an enlarged press conference attended by several indigenes at Ifiekporo, Warri South LGA, the protesting Itsekiri Communities, vowed to resist attempt to shortchange the area in the proposed new ward allocations done by INEC.

The communities which play host to several critical oil and gas facilities postulated that their demand for INEC to create Ijala Ward from the existing Obodo/Omadino Ward had yielded no result despite their population growth and strategic contribution to the nation’s economy.

The communities which included, Ifiekporo, Aja-Etan, Ikeren and Utunwa- under the aegis of Ijala communities, warned that failure to meet the demand could result in the disruption of critical oil and petroleum infrastructure in the area.

Addressing journalists behalf of the communities, Pa Michael Domino, in a statement he read during the briefing, said that the demand for an Ijala Ward was justified by the area’s demographic strength and economic importance, insisting that continued inclusion under the existing Obodo/Omadino Ward amounted to political marginalisation.

According to the statement, the constitutional and civil avenues employed by the communities to persuade INEC to create a separate ward had failed to yield results, necessitating the public protest.

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It argued that since the creation of Warri South LGA in 1991, successive administrations and political leaders had failed to acknowledge the numerical growth and economic viability of the Ijala communities.

“Our demand for the creation of Ijala Ward from the existing Obodo/Omadino Ward is a legitimate cause because we have the numerical and economic strength to become a stand-alone ward,” the statement said.

The communities maintained that, despite hosting major oil and gas assets and experiencing rapid population growth over the years, they remained politically tied to Obodo/Omadino Ward and lacked adequate representation.

They noted that the Ijala axis hosts significant oil and gas infrastructure, including facilities operated by Conoil and Seplat, the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, the Obodo Flow Station, and several petroleum tank farms and depots, including Matrix Energy Limited, AYM Shafa, Pinnacle Oil and Gas, Parker Oil, A&E Petro, and Keonamex Oil and Gas.

The protesting communities questioned INEC’s failure to recognise the area’s demographic and economic realities, despite having conducted field assessments in the communities when the delineation exercise commenced.

They further expressed frustration saying, “some areas within Warri South were proposed for multiple wards while Ijala was denied a single ward despite its size and economic significance”.

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Domino said the people would resist any attempt to retain the status quo, insisting that a separate ward for Ijala was non-negotiable.

He warned that the communities could be compelled to disrupt operations at oil facilities within their territory if their demands were ignored.

“We can assure Nigerians that we will not shy away from shutting down critical oil fields and depots if INEC fails to allot the much-deserved Ijala Ward to us,” he said.

The statement added, “For us, allotting Ijala Ward to us from what INEC is proposing is non-negotiable, and it is now or never; otherwise, we will speak the only language the Federal Government understands — crippling the economy.”

Reinforcing the warning, youth representative of the Aja-Etan community, Tuoyo Ebigbeyi, said residents were prepared to halt activities at key oil installations in the area if the government failed to address their grievances.

“We will shut down Obodo Flow Station, we will shut down the Refinery Jetty, and no vessel will come there. Anything short of giving us the ward will not be accepted,” Ebigbeyi declared.

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Other community leaders, including Pa Williams Ejegi, Mrs Abigail Tonukarin, Francis Eyifoma (a member of the Ifiekporo Community Elders Council), and Alfred Edon, who addressed the gathering, echoed the demand for a separate ward, arguing that the current arrangement no longer reflected the realities on the ground.

The agitation comes against the backdrop of the protracted controversy surrounding INEC’s ward delineation exercise in the Warri federal constituency, comprising Warri South, Warri North and Warri South-West local government areas.

The exercise followed a Supreme Court judgment directing a fresh delineation of electoral wards and polling units in the three councils.

While recent presidential intervention helped broker a political understanding between Ijaw and Itsekiri stakeholders in Warri North and Warri South-West, including the rotation of key elective offices between the two ethnic groups, stakeholders in Warri South contend that the local government was largely left unresolved in the broader settlement process, a development that has fuelled fresh demands such as the call for the creation of an Ijala Ward.