Chief West Adehor and Hon. Mark Ikpuri

From our Correspondent, Warri

Amidst prevailing mounting controversies trailing the proposed re-delineation of electoral wards in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria, Leaders of the Urhobo people in the area have unequivocally declared their position.

This is as they have disowned the trio of Chiefs Victor Okumagba, Isaac Emifoniye and Sterling Egbosa, who allegedly are canvassing support for the creation of three wards for the Ijaw people; insinuating that they (Ijaws) own more communities than the Itsekiris.

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Chief West Adehor and Hon. Mark Ikpuri made known positions of the Urhobo people while dismissing the insinuations by Victor Okumagba who is being accused of displaying soft feelings for the Ijaw people.

Talking to journalists in Warri a couple of days ago, they called on the government, particularly the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to rely on verified data and genuine representation to ensure peace and fairness among ethnic groups in the area.

They argued; that the Ijaw people neither have documented historical, nor legal claim to any community or ward within the Warri South Council Area or Warri Urban other than the area known as Miller Waterside, which was said to have been purchased from the Agbassa-Warri Urhobo people, and labelled; ‘a case of a land owner and a tenant’.

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The renowned Urhobo leaders recalled that there was an appeal to the people of Agbassa-Urhobo by the late Pa. Edwin Kiagbodo to permit the Ijaw people to jointly own a ward in the year 2001, highlighting their lack of documentation or historical presence in Warri South.

Stressing that the Ijaw people have no identifiable communities in the area; an indication that they have no significant presence there, they stated that it was a sharp contrast to the well-established position of Urhobo communities of Ogunu, Edjeba, Okere Urhobo, Kpokiti, Otowodo, Odion Urhobo, and Agbarha.

Further, the Leaders insisted that the Urhobo people remain the authentic indigenes of Warri South local Government Council area, referencing their longstanding contributions to the political, cultural and economic development of the area spanning decades.

As they strongly rejected claims that Ogbe-Ijoh and other riverine communities belong to the Ijaw people, saying the recognition of ethnic groups within the Nigerian local Government Council Area often depends on historical settlements, legal documents, and political arrangements; all of which the Ijaw people allegedly lack in the present circumstances.

Chief Mathias Olowu

In the same vein, Chief Mathias Olowu described the actions of Chief Okumagba and his associates as a “show of shame and generational insult to the Urhobo people.”

In his argument, Chief Olowu wholly declared that it was unacceptable to the Urhobo people for the Ijaws that have previously never produced a councilor in Warri South Local Government Area, to be allocated three wards.

Challenging the Ijaw people to provide evidence of any of their persons that had ever been buried in Warri South Council Area, Olowu asserts there abounds countless ancestral values and legal documents that confer land ownership rights on both the Urhobo people and Itsekiri natives in Warri South.

He further clarified that the naming of monuments as in the case of Ogbe Ijaw Market does not imply that the Ijaw people own that land, just as he pointed out that the existence of the likes of Hausa and Igbo Markets within the Warri metropolis does not automatically grant land ownership to the Hausas and Igbos who those markets were named after.

Applauding Chief Westham Adehor and Hon. Mark Ikpuri for what he termed; their ‘courageous defense of the Urhobo interests’, Olowu noted that their strong commitment to protecting the rights and heritage of the Urhobo people amid the raging disputes in Warri South, was commendable.

“Be that as it may, the Urhobo people are disappointed in the activities of Victor Okumagba, John Eranvor; Isaac Emifoniye; and Stanley Agbosa, disowning them as a set of people who lack the capacity to represent the Urhobo nation.

“They are on the voyage of pursuing a selfish personal agenda,” he added.

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Proposed area to be carved out of Urhobo land for Ijaws

They include the Roman Catholic Church and First Baptist Church areas; Areas surrounding the House of First President General of Urhobo Progress Union, (UPU), the late Mukoro Mowoe including the Primary and Secondary Schools named after him.

Others are the Post Office Area, Roberts Road Area including all the Areas relating to Warri Main Market, as well as the areas where the Headquarters of Agbarha, Otovwodo of Agbarha Kingdom popularly called Agbassa is located.

For all of these areas; late Pa. Igbi, one of the Urhobo nation representatives have signed a Treaty of Protection with the British Colonial Masters way back in the 18th Century, it was said.