Activist slams Delta’s ward delineation

Rights activist, Chief Rita Lori-Ogbebor, has condemned the ward delineation by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Warri South Local Government of Delta State, describing it as an attempt to sideline the Itsekiri. Speaking at a briefing in Lagos, Lori-Ogbebor, the Igba of Warri Kingdom, said INEC failed to consult the original owners of the land, the Ereku/Ogisi family of Odion town, before the exercise.

“What is today Warri was Odion town before the colonial era,” she said. “Odion town, named after its founder, was the first man and town that pre-existed all others. Odion came in 1474.” She alleged the delineation was manipulated in favour of Ijaw and Urhobo, with the alleged help of Rhoda Gumus, an Ijaw woman who heads INEC’s regional commission. “Following the ward delineation in Warri South, our ancestral land was given away by INEC. We are not surprised because the exercise was led by Rhoda Gumus. …” she said.

Chief Lori-Ogbebor urged INEC chairman to correct what she called a “gross anomaly” and involve the true stakeholders. “The INEC chairman should correct this anomaly caused by the connivance of its regional commission. The Ereku/Ogisi family, who are the original landowners, must be involved,” she said. She also raised concerns about Tantita Security Services, a company linked to ex-militant leader Tompolo, which she claims has hoisted flags on her family’s land in Odion. “The Inspector-General of Police should call Tantita company and Tompolo to order. They must immediately remove their flags from our land in Odion. They got there through one Godbless Merogun, whose ancestors from Ugbowangue are our tenants at Fugbe, Odion town,” she stated.

She warned that the presence of Tantita could lead to violence and instability in the area. “To prevent any disorder and escalation of violence, they must leave our land,” she added. Calling for federal intervention, she accused Tompolo and Tantita of using force and federal resources to grab land. “The Federal Government should look into the issue of Tompolo. His company, Tantita, has been weaponised with guns, money, gunboats, manpower and power to conclude their expansionist ambition. They already rule all the Nigerian coastline,” she alleged.

In a bold appeal, she called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly to create a new state for the Itsekiri people. “My President, Nigeria has left us empty and we can be wiped out any day,” she lamented. “We appeal, suggest and implore His Excellency, President Tinubu, the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives, to urgently and strongly consider and grant the creation of an Itsekiri State.”

She argued that an Itsekiri State would protect her people from being overrun by other ethnic groups. “Let the Itsekiri people have their own state on their land, like the case of the Ijaws in Bayelsa State. This will help prevent the disturbing greed and land grabbing by our neighbours,” she concluded. The petition has brought renewed attention to long-standing ethnic tensions and land disputes in the Warri region, sparking debate over historical ownership, political boundaries, and the future of the Itsekiri people.

Source: https://thenationonlineng.net/activist-slams-deltas-ward-delineation/

Date: 1May25