By: Niger Delta Advocacy Force (NDAF)

DATE: 11th August 2025

RE: The Urgent Need to Release the Supreme Court, Ordered Warri Delineation Result

We write with a righteous fury born from centuries of betrayal, with the memories of our ancestors whispering in our ears and with the burden of a generation that refuses to be buried twice. Warri Federal Constituency has endured a political tragedy, a deliberate architecture of injustice built brick by brick from the colonial era until this very day. INEC’s continued refusal to release the Supreme Court, ordered delineation result is not a harmless delay, it is the reopening of old wounds, the replay of a script that has turned Warri into a graveyard of peace.

The story is painfully familiar. From the fraudulent colonial leases that stripped the Ijaw and Urhobo majorities of their land to the British-crafted ward structures that handed political dominance to a small minority, the outcome has always been the same, the truth is suffocated, the majority is silenced and a privileged few are inflated beyond their numbers. The Supreme Court, in Timinimi v. INEC (SC/CV/1033/2023), has cut through the lies. The verdict is not ambiguous. The time for INEC to obey is now.

Warri’s history is not abstract, it bleeds. The crises of 1997, 1999, and 2003 were not accidents, they were eruptions from decades of political fraud. The Daily Times, March 25, 1997, recorded the trigger: “The relocation of the local government headquarters to Ogbe-Ijoh sparked retaliatory violence that razed dozens of communities.” The peace we have now is not a natural peace, it is a fragile truce, balancing on a knife’s edge. Every day INEC delays is a day closer to shattering that balance.

Under Section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution, the orders of the Supreme Court are binding on all authorities. INEC’s failure to publish the delineation result two years after completing public hearings and mapping is nothing less than contempt of court. This delay is not administrative, it is political and it serves only those who benefit from keeping the fraudulent 6–4–0 ward formula alive, a structure where the Itsekiri minority, barely 25% of Warri population according to the 2006 National Population Census, holds political dominance over the Ijaw and Urhobo majorities.

History does not lie. The British Intelligence Report of 1932 (CO 554/122/6) makes it plain: “Gbaramatu and its surrounding creek communities are populated by Ijaw clans who have occupied the area before the arrival of Portuguese trade.” Yet, under British protection, fraudulent leases transferred the political heart of these territories into the hands of a favoured minority. This delineation exercise, the first in over a century with the potential to reflect reality is our one chance to reverse a hundred years of rigged history.

INEC must understand: in a place like Warri, transparency is not an option, it is a survival tool. To delay is to feed the rumour mill, to validate suspicions that the commission is protecting an ethnic agenda. O. Okohoja’s Who Controls Warri? (2016, Journal of African History) warned us: “Colonial administrative policies entrenched ethnic inequality, creating a volatile political space that has persisted into the postcolonial era.” Those who ignore such warnings repeat the cycle.

The demographic truth is undeniable. INEC’s own Field Assessment Report of 2022 states: “Ijaw and Urhobo communities account for over 70% of polling units in Warri South-West LGA.” These are the figures that must guide democracy not the invented arithmetic of political fraud. And while Nigeria chases global credibility, ECOWAS, the AU and the UN are watching. The world has intervened in Niger Delta crises before and it will again if the flames are rekindled.

Let us be clear, political representation has nothing to do with the palace titles that are being used as distractions. The Olu of Warri rebranded from “Olu of Itsekiri” in 1952 without the consent of the Ijaw or Urhobo is not a constitutional authority over our land or our votes. As the Colonial Record CO 554/120/5 bluntly notes: “The title ‘Olu of Warri’ is a recent invention and has caused unrest among the Ijo and Urhobo populations.” Democracy is not the property of a throne.

We are not blind to the forces at work. From the lobbying of Daisy Danjuma to the suspected influence of Remi Tinubu, we know the hands pulling the strings. INEC must decide, will it stand as a guardian of democracy or as a pawn in the game of elite manipulation? The choice will define its legacy.

This is more than a legal obligation, it is a moral reckoning. INEC is constitutionally empowered under Section 153(1)(f) and Paragraph 15 of the Third Schedule to act independently and in obedience to court orders. To continue delaying is to spit on the law and on the people. We say it plainly: release the Warri delineation result now.

The Ijaw and Urhobo people will not participate in Continuous Voter Registration or elections under an illegal ward structure. No delineation, no CVR. No delineation, no election. This is not a threat, it is the only moral response to a system that refuses to correct itself. The Supreme Court has spoken. The people have spoken. Now, INEC must speak through action.

The world is watching. And if Warri burns again, history will record that the spark was lit in the corridors of those who knew the truth but chose delay over justice.

Signed:

Dr. Tamuno Goodluck (Chairman)

Richard Ovie

(Defence)

Niger Delta Advocacy Force (NDAF)

Cc:

President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

INEC Chairman

National Security Adviser

National Assembly

Nigerian Bar Association

ECOWAS

African Union

United Nations

Global Media

A Strategic Campaign to Maximize Government and Private Sector Partnership in Agricultural Mechanization
‎
‎Submitted by:
‎Engr. John Perede Akpoyibo
‎CEO, J-Pere Nig. Ltd.
‎Global Impact Foundation Worldwide
‎Email: johndivine89@gmail.com
‎Phone: +2348156926975
‎
‎Date: June 2025
‎
‎EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
‎
‎Nigeria is in urgent need of practical agricultural solutions that go beyond ceremonial launches and media fanfare. While the Federal Government recently flagged off the deployment of 2,000 tractors under the Renewed Hope Agricultural Revolution, the long-standing problem of underutilized resources and poor rural access persists.
‎
‎This proposal by Engr. John Perede Akpoyibo, CEO of J-Pere Nig. Ltd., introduces “Operation Free Tractor Rental”—a result-oriented, impact-driven strategy to deploy tractors and bulldozers across the 36 states of Nigeria. The core objective is to enable rural farmers and landowners to access mechanized agricultural support through a digitally managed, government-sponsored, privately executed platform.
‎
‎Key highlights include:
‎
‎A partnership between the Federal Government and a private management firm.
‎
‎Establishment of State Agricultural Mechanization Units (SAMU).
‎
‎Deployment of 50 tractors and 1 bulldozer per state.
‎
‎Creation of a transparent tractor/bulldozer request portal.
‎
‎A 6-month conditional farming window for beneficiaries, with modest penalties for default.
‎
‎
‎This initiative aims to directly stimulate food production, rural job creation, land development, and farmer empowerment—ultimately ensuring that Nigeria’s agricultural transformation is not just announced, but fully implemented and felt across communities.
‎
‎1.0 INTRODUCTION
‎
‎Agricultural mechanization is essential for transforming Nigeria’s food system. However, a long-standing pattern of cosmetic governance, characterized by public launches and zero field execution, has repeatedly failed to deliver.
‎
‎“Operation Free Tractor Rental” seeks to shift that paradigm by placing control in the hands of both state-level agricultural departments and efficient private-sector operators, under federal sponsorship and monitoring.
‎
‎
‎2.0 BACKGROUND AND PROBLEM STATEMENT
‎
‎Despite multiple government interventions in agriculture, rural farmers and landowners across Nigeria still lack access to:
‎
‎Affordable land clearing services.
‎
‎Reliable tractor rentals.
‎
‎Modern farming infrastructure.
‎
‎
‎Tractors meant for public use are often diverted or abandoned. Farmers with land are discouraged by the prohibitive cost of starting mechanized farming, resulting in uncultivated lands and high food insecurity.
‎
‎For example, in many Ijaw communities, families own over 100 plots of uncultivated land, overtaken by grass, trees, and weeds. These lands could feed thousands—if only land clearing and mechanized farming support were accessible.
‎
‎3.0 PROPOSED SOLUTION: OPERATION FREE TRACTOR RENTAL
‎
‎3.1 Objective
‎To decentralize access to tractors and bulldozers and ensure equitable service delivery through a public-private partnership model.
‎
‎3.2 Strategic Steps
‎
‎Step 1: Partnership Setup
‎
‎The Federal Government allocates the 2,000 tractors and bulldozers to a private management firm (e.g., J-Pere Nig. Ltd.).
‎
‎The private firm collaborates with State Commissioners for Agriculture to set up a State Agricultural Mechanization Unit (SAMU) in each of the 36 states.
‎
‎
‎Step 2: Equipment Allocation
‎
‎Each state receives 50 tractors and 1 bulldozer, based on agricultural demand and geographic spread.
‎
‎Step 3: Central Request Platform
‎
‎Farmers and landowners apply via an online portal or designated state offices to:
‎
‎Clear land with bulldozers.
‎
‎Access tractors for ploughing and planting.
‎
‎
‎Step 4: Conditional Use
‎
‎Beneficiaries must start cultivation within 6 months of land clearing or pay a modest penalty to recover operational costs.
‎
‎Step 5: Monitoring and Evaluation
‎
‎Tractors are GPS-monitored.
‎
‎Monthly usage reports are published.
‎
‎Independent field audits will ensure transparency and effectiveness.
‎
‎
‎4.0 EXPECTED OUTCOMES
‎
‎Increased food production across all zones.
‎
‎Thousands of hectares of unused land activated.
‎
‎Job creation through tractor operations and farm labor.
‎
‎Youth empowerment and new agribusiness opportunities.
‎
‎Restoration of public trust in government agricultural programs.
‎
‎
‎5.0 FINANCIAL AND LOGISTICAL FRAMEWORK
‎
‎Government Role: Asset funding, policy backing, and oversight.
‎
‎Private Sector Role: Operational logistics, technology integration, and field management.
‎
‎Farmer Contribution: Optional symbolic cost recovery fee if farming is delayed beyond 6 months.
‎
‎
‎This model can also attract donor agency support and development finance institutions (DFIs) such as AfDB, IFAD, and the World Bank, once proven successful at state level.
‎
‎
‎6.0 CASE STUDY: IJAW REGION PILOT SCHEME (Optional Addendum)
‎
‎In the Ijaw region alone, thousands of hectares remain uncultivated due to land clearing costs. With the right tractor and bulldozer access:
‎
‎Lands will be cleared in two weeks.
‎
‎Farmers will begin planting.
‎
‎Private funds can support irrigation, fencing, and farm housing.
‎
‎
‎This scalable success can be replicated nationwide.
‎
‎
‎7.0 CONCLUSION
‎
‎If Nigeria is serious about agricultural transformation, we must adopt systems that reach the people, not just the headlines. “Operation Free Tractor Rental” is a ready-made, replicable blueprint that ensures tractors do not become political souvenirs, but tools of national productivity.
‎
‎We urge:
‎
‎President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to adopt this model as a national strategy.
‎
‎The Hon. Minister of Agriculture, to partner with J-Pere Nig. Ltd. and establish the State Agricultural Mechanization Units.
‎
‎Private investors, to support the rollout of digital request platforms and logistics.
‎
‎Communities and youth leaders, to organize and embrace this opportunity for agricultural rebirth.
‎
‎
‎Prepared and Submitted by:
‎Engr. John Perede Akpoyibo
‎CEO, J-Pere Nig. Ltd.
‎
‎Contact:
‎+2348156926975
‎Johndivine89gmail.com.
‎
‎
‎-
‎

Title: “When the Wolf Cries Victim: The Hypocrisy of Omolubi’s Itsekiri SOS”

From: The Ijaw Stakeholders of Warri Federal Constituency

Date: August 5, 2025

INTRODUCTION: DECEPTION DRESSED IN DISTRESS

We have read with seething outrage the recent SOS letter issued by Mr. Omolubi Newuwumi, a man who shamelessly dons the cloak of “human rights advocate” while gaslighting the world with falsehoods rooted in colonial privilege, legal distortions and ethnic manipulation.

Let us make it abundantly clear: this is not a cry for justice, it is a desperate last-minute propaganda stunt from a minority elite group trying to cover up decades of oppression against the Ijaw and Urhobo peoples in Warri. This is not a call for peace, it is a smokescreen to distract from their historical fraud, demographic minority status and now crumbling political monopoly.

1. WHO IS OPPRESSING WHO? THE COLONIAL FAVOURITE PLAYING VICTIM

Newuwumi dares to call the Itsekiris “the most oppressed tribe in Nigeria.” What a travesty of truth! This is a people who:

Were singularly elevated by British colonialists in 1928 through W.D.G. Young’s Report, which declared the Olu as a ruler over all of Warri, a blatant falsehood rejected by indigenous Warri tribes and corrected by protests and administrative reviews.

Had their title changed from “Olu of Itsekiri” to “Olu of Warri” in 1952 by Governor Arthur Richards without the consent of Ijaw and Urhobo communities, an illegal renaming that violated ethnic sovereignty.

Received special colonial leases and land recognitions from figures like Chief Dore Numa, acting as intermediaries for British interests, including the notorious 1926 Omagbemi v. Dore Numa case that exposed how lands belonging to Ijaws were fraudulently leased by Itsekiri chiefs without ancestral rights.

Were gifted 8 WARDS in Warri South-West LGA while the Ijaws, the majority, had only 2 and Urhobos none. This egregious injustice continued until the Supreme Court decision in Timinimi v. INEC (SC/CV/1033/2023) ordered proper delineation to reflect demographic and ancestral realities.

Who then is truly oppressed? The beneficiary of colonial excess or the people whose lands were leased without consent?

2. IJAW LANDS, NOT ITSEKIRI LANDS: HISTORICAL AND LEGAL FACTS

Let’s go deeper. The communities mentioned by Newuwumi, Utonila, Tebu, Usoh, were not historically Itsekiri foundations. As early as the 1485 Portuguese voyage, records mention Gbaramatu and Ogbe-Ijoh as the primary indigenous riverine communities hosting the Europeans, long before the Olu throne even existed.

The Ijaw people, from Gbaramatu, Ogbe-Ijoh, Isaba, Diebiri, Egbema etc, are the first owners of Warri riverside and creeks, documented in:

The 1936 Intelligence Reports on Warri Division, which lists these Ijaw towns as independent entities and landlords over many of the lands now claimed by Itsekiris.

The 1973 case: Chief E.E. Sillo v. Attorney General of Bendel State, where the court ruled that no Itsekiri chief had the power to administer Ijaw territories under the guise of traditional council authority.

The Ayomike Letters (Itsekiri historian), which admitted that most of Itsekiri territory was acquired through settlements and not ancestral occupation.

3. THE FAKE CLAIM OF SOVEREIGNTY TRANSFERRED TO THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND

Newuwumi claims that the Itsekiris surrendered their sovereignty directly to the British Crown and not to Nigeria. What colonial fantasy is this?

The 1884 Treaty of Protection between Nana of Itsekiri and the British did not confer any territorial sovereignty. In fact, Nana Olomu was defeated and exiled in 1894, and his power structure dismantled. Where is the continuity of sovereignty in exile?

The Oil Rivers Protectorate (1885) and later Niger Coast Protectorate (1893) covered all Niger Delta tribes, including Ijaw territories. Sovereignty was not individual to any tribe but a general colonial annexation.

If the Itsekiris claim sovereignty lies with the British, why then have they contested in Nigerian courts, held public offices and participated in Nigerian elections? You cannot be both inside and outside the republic.

4. NO RULE OF LAW? YOU DEFIED THE SUPREME COURT!

Newuwumi cries about lack of rule of law. Yet:

The Itsekiris, through political manipulation, frustrated the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment in Timinimi v. INEC for two years!

They used media campaigns, presidential lobbying (via Daisy Danjuma), and royal letters to delay the final ward delineation meant to correct injustices.

They still parade a kingship institution that was fabricated in 1952 and imposed on other ethnic groups, a violation of natural justice.

5. ELITE BLAME GAME: BILLIONAIRES WITHOUT CONSCIENCE?

Omolubi blames Itsekiri billionaires for not protecting their lands. Perhaps they are too embarrassed to continue defending lies. Perhaps, unlike you, they know that the Ijaws have irrefutable ownership of the lands where oil is extracted.

Where are the Itsekiri oil fields?

Most oil blocs lie in Ijaw territories:

Egwa, Otunana, Jones Creek, Oporoza, Benikrukru, Okerenkoko, Azama, Egbema, all Ijaw towns hosting oil pipelines, FPSOs, and flowstations.

So why the crocodile tears?

6. INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY CANNOT BE MANIPULATED

No international court will uphold your fantasy of exclusive Itsekiri ownership over lands that belong to the Ijaw and Urhobo people. Let them come and read the 1948 Colonial Maps, the 1933 Intelligence Files, the 1999 Federal Government White Paper on the Warri Crisis and the 2001 Peace Committee Reports, which clearly show that the Itsekiris were settlers along riverbanks and not majority landowners.

7. FINAL WARNING: RELEASE THE WARD DELINEATION OR FACE FINAL RESISTANCE

This manipulative SOS is another attempt to distract INEC and buy more time to sabotage the final release of the new ward delineation, which reflects the true owners of Warri land.

We remind the nation and the world:

No final delineation result, no Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) in Warri. No more manipulation through royal letters or media lies. No more silence from the Ijaw nation.

CONCLUSION: ENOUGH OF THE TEARS OF A TYRANT

This is not a people under siege. This is a people watching their unjust privilege collapse and they are crying because justice is finally catching up.

The Ijaw people are not aggressors.

We are the ancestral owners.

We waited. We went to court. We won.

Now, we demand implementation.

The era of Itsekiri monopoly is over.

Let the records show:

Truth is not a victim. Truth is coming to power.

Signed:

Chief, Tiemopere Joshua

( President)

Chief, Ebikeme T. Godstime

(Secretary)

Cc:

INEC Chairman

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

United Nations Human Rights Commission

African Union Commission

United States State Department

British High Commission

ECOWAS Secretariat

Nigerian National Assembly

Nigerian Security Agencies

Global Press & Human Rights Observers