Former Deputy Governor of Delta State, Kingsley Otuaro, has called for truth, justice, and fair electoral delineation as the only pathway to lasting peace in Warri Federal Constituency, blaming historical ethnic dominance struggles and institutional failures for the persistent tension despite a Supreme Court ruling.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE News on Friday, Otuaro said the Supreme Court had already delivered a definitive judgment ordering the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to discard the old ward arrangement in Warri Federal Constituency and conduct a fresh delineation based on population.
However, he lamented that the decision has not been implemented, fuelling tensions among the Ijaw, Urhobo, and Itsekiri ethnic groups.
“The Warri crisis has a very complex history,” Otuaro explained. “With profound respect to the Itsekiri establishment, they have long maintained—and passed down the narrative—that the landmass constituting Warri North, Warri South, and Warri Southwest is co-terminus with the Itsekiri homeland, under the overlordship of the Olu. In this worldview, Ijaws and Urhobos are settlers and customary tenants.”
He asserted that this belief is the root of the conflict and that it fosters a resistance to any political arrangement that does not grant the Itsekiri ethnic group dominance.
“Any democratic arrangement that does not allow the Itsekiri to have political dominance, according to that narrative, is a fool’s paradise and must not see the light of day. This is the crux of the Warri problem,” he said.
Otuaro, a trained conflict resolution expert and fellow of the Institute of Peace Practice and Studies, emphasised that understanding the deep-seated root causes of conflicts is essential to crafting meaningful solutions.
“Until we are able to speak truth to the issues—truth to the competing interests and agitations—we’ll just be playing with the issues,” he said.
The former deputy governor further explained that the Nigerian Constitution (Sections 49, 72, and 75) demands electoral ward delineation based on population for fair democratic representation. According to him, the existing arrangement in Warri is a “flagrant abuse” of this principle.
“Oporoza, for example, had a population of about 3,200 as of 2001 and only nine polling units, while another community with just 1,100 people had 46 polling units. That defies both fairness and constitutional provisions,” he said.
He also referenced INEC’s own post-election reports from 1998 and 1999, where the commission acknowledged electoral abnormalities in Warri and several other LGAs.
“INEC, in its own report, said there were fraudulent and unacceptable electoral abnormalities in Warri Southwest. If they have acknowledged it, why not correct it?” he asked.
Otuaro criticised the failure of government institutions to act on numerous past peace initiatives, despite clear findings and recommendations.
“From Justice Anene Arau in 1993 to General Theophilus Danjuma in 2003, to Governor Ibori’s roadmap to peace, every effort has been resisted—mostly by the Itsekiri establishment,” he noted. “Government agencies have lacked the will to implement the reports.”
Addressing claims by some Itsekiri stakeholders that they are being politically sidelined despite having 75,000 registered voters and receiving only eight wards, Otuaro pointed to the broader constitutional expectation of equitable representation.
“The Supreme Court has ruled, and this is the final court in the land. It is time to obey it,” he said.
On the broader question of how to achieve sustainable peace in Warri, Otuaro concluded that structural changes may be necessary.
“The problems are existential. It is only when you have some level of autonomy for the Urhobo, the Ijaw, and the Itsekiri in these three local government areas that you can truly have lasting peace in this area,” he stated.
Boluwatife Enome
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