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The Suspension of Elections in Warri Certainly Is Anti-Itsekiri

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The Suspension of Elections in Warri Certainly Is Anti-Itsekiri The suspension of elections in Warri certainly is antiItsekiri Page 1 of 1 The suspension of elections in Warri certainly is anti-Itsekiri. By I. O. Jemide ON the 19th of April, 2004, at Asaba, the seat of the Delta State Government, Governor Ibori swore in 22 newly elected local government chairmen. Of the 22 chairmen, there are nine from Ibo homeland, eight from Urhobo homeland, three from Ijaw homeland, two from Isoko homeland and none from Itsekiri homeland. Putting it another way round, of the 22 chairmen sworn in, nine of them speak the Ibo language or dialect, eight speak Urhobo language, three speak Ijaw language, two speak Isoko language. Conspicuously absent from his group is one who speaks the Itsekiri language, which is one of the five ethnic languages spoken in the Delta State. Is it not obvious which ethnic group losses or suffers from non-conduct of elections in the three Warri Local Government Council Areas? Does it matter to the Urhobos whether or not local government elections are conducted in Warri, when they have eight chairmen who can preside over the councils in the Urhobo homeland? What about the Ijaws? What do they lose if local government elections remain suspended in Warri forever? The answer is nothing when they have three chairmen in their homeland of Burutu, Bomadi and Patani Local Governments. As long as Local Government elections remain suspended in the three Warri Local Government Areas, only the Itsekiri, of the five ethnic groups, which form the Delta State, will remain a deprived people and excluded or prevented from participating in local governance in the state. Governor Ibori, in a display, completely lacking in conscience, says this process or situation does not amount to ethnic discrimination against the Itsekiri nationality in the overall scheme of things in the State. Governor Ibori says the road to peace in Warri is to discriminate against the Itsekiri, rob them of what belongs to them and give same to the Ijaws and Urhobos. He says it is justice and in line with peace to manipulate the system of governance in favour of the Urhobos and the Ijaws of Warri at the expense of the Itsekiri interest. He deliberately, conveniently and stubbornly refuses to understand that the only place in the whole of Delta State or indeed in Nigeria, where the Itsekiri, as a people can have and participate in local governance is Warri, as against the Urhobos with eight local governments of Ethiope West, Ethiope East, Ughelli North, Ughelli South, Okpe, Sapele, Uvwie and Udu, and the Ijaws in Burutu, Bomadi and Patani. Governor Ibori says local government elections in Warri will await the establishment of Development Committees, designed to take over and control not only the finances but also the land and functions of the three Warri Local Governments, which would have been rendered inferior to their counterparts of the State, by the existence and operation of the committees. I am forced to raise these issues as my personal reaction to Governor Ibori's statement on the occasion of the swearing in of the 22 Local Government Council chairmen in Asaba, to the effect that the suspension of Local Government elections in Warri was not against any particular ethnic group.With due respect to Governor Ibori, I strongly contend his statement to the effect that suspension of elections in the Warri Local Government Councils is not against any ethnic group. This is a show of executive hypocrisy, designed to deceive only the stupid or the foolish or possibly an imbecile. Fortunately, however, Itsekiris are not stupid or foolish or imbeciles. They, therefore, cannot be deceived or fooled by the governor’s hypocritical statement. The situation on the ground wherein nine Ibo speaking chairmen and councils, eight Urhobo speaking chairmen and councils, are all, functioning, except the Itsekiri speaking chairmen and councils, puts it beyond doubt that Governor Ibori’s decision to hold local government selections in all the homelands of Delta State, with the exclusion of the Itsekiri homeland, is a deliberate act of injustice, oppression and marginalisation against the Itsekiri ethnic minority. I dare day that, no matter the effort Governor Ibori may make, no matter what he says or how he says it, to persuade the Itsekiri people that the suspension of local government elections in Warri is not anti-Itsekiri, the Itsekiri people firmly hold that the Governor’s decision in suspending local government elections in Warri, is another of his numerous acts of omission and commission against the Itsekiris. Consequently, I believe that the Itsekiri people will, with a deep feeling of resentment, always remember Governor James Onanefe Ibori, for this and several other anti Itsekiri actions, just as the Itsekiris continue to remember, with utmost bad feeling, Col J. D. Dungs, the Military Administrator of Delta State from 1996 to 1998. May 2004 http://www.nigerdeltacongress.com/sarticles/suspension_of_elections_in_warri.htm 7/18/2008.
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