Pan Yoruba groups warn of looming crisis in Delta over INEC’s proposed ward delineation exercise
April 22, 2025
By Samuel Ogunsona
A coalition of 130 Pan Yoruba groups, known as the Alliance for Yoruba Democratic Movements (AYDM), has sounded the alarm over a potential crisis in Delta State, sparked by the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) proposed ward delineation exercise in Warri Federal Constituency.
The AYDM, which represents a broad spectrum of Yoruba-speaking communities across Nigeria, held a press conference in Lagos on Tuesday, April 22, 2025.
The group expressed their concerns over the proposed exercise, which they believe is designed to disenfranchise the Itsekiri people of their homeland.
According to the group’s Secretary-General, Popoola Ajayi, the proposed delineation exercise is a grand conspiracy to alienate the Itsekiri people from their ancestral land and hand it over to their neighbors.
“We are compelled to call this conference due to the emerging crisis in the Niger Delta and the far-reaching implications for democracy and the rule of law in Nigeria,” Ajayi stated.
The AYDM noted that the Warri homeland is entirely Itsekiri, with a well-established administrative structure headed by the Olu of Warri, which predates the 1914 amalgamation.
They expressed outrage over INEC’s proposal, which they claim is aimed at diminishing the Itsekiri’s presence in their own homeland.
“We recall that for about 6 years, the Niger Delta was thrown into armed ethnic conflict which threatened the stability of Nigeria. We do not want to see this happen again,” group warned
The group’s revealed that INEC’s archives show that the Itsekiri had 10 wards in the defunct Warri Local Government Area, while the Ijaws had two wards and the Urhobos had one ward.
Chief Kunle Oshodi, President of Agbekoya, one of the coalition members, warned that the conflict could bring tears and blood to the Niger Delta, just like it did six years ago. “We do not want to see this happen again,” Oshodi emphasized.
Other prominent figures who attended the press briefing include Monoyo Edon, Niger Delta Youth Leader; Hon. Kingsley Tenumah, former councilor of Warri South Local Government Area; and Wale Oshun, Chairman of Afenifere Renewal Group.
The AYDM has called on President Bola Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to immediately intervene to ensure justice and fair play for the Itsekiri people.
They also demand that INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, be invited to explain why the Itsekiri areas have been shrinking while the Ijaw and Urhobo areas are increasing astronomically.
Furthermore, the AYDM demands that a Commission of Inquiry be set up to investigate INEC’s delineation activities in Warri Federal Constituency to ascertain why INEC merged several wards in Itsekiri Area to become one while multiplying areas with low registration in the Urhobo and Ijaws enclave.
They also want to know whether INEC has the constitutional powers to create new communities or superimpose illegal names on existing Itsekiri communities.
The group demands that INEC return to the original 13 ward defunct Warri Local Government Area and use same as the basis upon which delineation can be carried out in Warri Federal Constituency.
They also call for the investigation of all the justices of the Supreme Court that delivered a procured judgment against the Itsekiri people.
The AYDM also demands that President Bola Tinubu withdraw all pipeline security and surveillance contracts awarded to Tantita Security Services Ltd, a company owned by a sworn enemy of the Itsekiri, and award same to competent Itsekiris.
They also want the Nigerian Police to investigate Adamu Abaji, DG of the National Boundary Commission and Kingsley Otuaro, the immediate past Deputy Governor of Delta state over the falsified adjustment of gazetted boundaries and the renaming of Itsekiri communities in their homeland.