Warri, Nigeria  – July 16, 2025: The Ijaw Stakeholders of Warri Federal Constituency have issued a bold and historic statement declaring full support for the ongoing delineation process by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), describing it as a long-awaited correction to decades of historical distortion, political marginalization, and territorial misrepresentation.

In a strong worded release,the stakeholders challenged the legitimacy of Itsekiri land claims and monarch authority, asserting that the truth of Warri’s founding peoples and rightful landowners can no longer be buried beneath colonial narratives and elite manipulation.  Read full release:

“PRESS RELEASE

“Issued by: Ijaw Stakeholders of Warri Federal Constituency

“Date: 16 July 2025

“HEADLINE:

“THE LIE IS DEAD, THE LAND SPEAKS: DELINEATION IS HERE TO STAY, AND SO IS THE TRUTH

“TO WHOM MUCH LAND IS GIVEN, MUCH LIES HAVE BEEN TOLD

“For decades, a small ethnic group has wrapped itself in borrowed robes and built castles of influence upon swamps of fiction. The Itsekiris, by a mix of colonial favoritism, media mischief and oil-backed lobbying, have projected themselves as landlords over a territory they neither founded nor truly occupied in majority. They have distorted maps, fabricated history and declared themselves monarchs over a land that was already thriving with Ijaw and Urhobo civilizations before Ginuwa ever arrived at Ijala, an Ijaw town, not an Itsekiri creation.

“But history does not remain silent forever. The ground speaks. The creeks cry out. The people rise. And the truth long suppressed under the boots of colonial policies and oil politics has finally found its voice through facts, maps, judgments, census data and the awakening of ancestral memory.

“Today, we declare without any iota of doubt that the delineation of Warri Federal Constituency is not only constitutional, it is a moral correction, a historical rebalancing and a political rebirth.

“THE TRUTH HAS BEEN UNSEALED: KEY EXPOSÉS

“No Land, No Numbers, No Legitimacy

“Let it be told loud and clear, the Itsekiris have no ancestral claim over the majority of Warri land. From Gbaramatu to Ogbe-Ijoh, Okerenkoko to Isaba, these lands were never under the control of the Olu of Warri. In fact, Colonial Officer M.C. Smart (1933) stated explicitly:

“There is no historical evidence that the Olu or his agents exercised political control over Gbaramatu or the Forcados River areas.” (Intelligence Report, NAI CSO 26/2 27036)

“Census data also exposes the demographic fraud. While the Ijaws and Urhobos number in the hundreds of thousands, Itsekiris barely make up 5% of the population in Warri Federal Constituency. Their loud voice is not from the people, it is from privileged positioning and outside funding.

“The Manufactured Monarchy and the Fake Crown

“Until 1952, the title was simply “Olu of Itsekiri” a modest title rightly confined to a small ethnic domain. But in a colonial act of deception, the name was changed to “Olu of Warri”, creating the illusion of sovereignty over a land never owned.

“The Itsekiris were not the first settlers of Warri Division. Their claims to exclusive ownership are historically baseless.” — Prof. E.J. Alagoa, Niger Delta Oral Traditions and History

“That title change was resisted by Urhobo and Ijaw leaders of the time. Today, we renew that resistance and we demand the immediate reversal of the title back to its truthful form.

“The Ward Delineation: A Verdict of Justice

“The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), after due consideration of population density, indigenous habitation, and administrative justice, has undertaken the constitutional exercise of delineation. The Itsekiris, sensing the exposure of their long-standing fraud, now resort to blackmail, media lobbying and legal stalling.

“But the game is up.

“We affirm that the delineation result must be announced. It is not just a democratic exercise, it is historical reparation.

“It was once said:

“In the past, the man has been first; in the future, the system must be first.” — Frederick W. Taylor

“Falsehood may run for years, but truth walks in one day and takes over the house.” — Ijaw Proverb

“The greatest injustice in the Niger Delta is not oil theft — it is land theft.” — Late Chief Harold Dappa-Biriye

“Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” — Amos 5:24 (Holy Scripture)

“OUR FINAL ADVICE TO THE ITSEKIRIS

“Enough of the media manipulations. Enough of the legal distractions. Enough of clinging to a throne built on quicksand. You cannot hold the majority hostage forever.

“We advise you: accept the truth and let justice reign. Coexistence is possible but not at the cost of false supremacy. You are not landlords. You are not founders. You are, by all historical accounts, tenants who must now learn to live in truth or be remembered for lies.

“CALL TO ACTION

“We call on:

“INEC: Proceed without fear or favour. The delineation must be concluded and gazetted.

“The Presidency and National Assembly: Stand firm for constitutional equity.

The International Community: Monitor the manipulation tactics and support indigenous land rights.

“The Nigerian People: Reject false narratives. Support the voice of history.”

Sign:

Chief Tiemopere Joshua (President)

Chief Ebikeke T. Goodstime (Secretary)

Ijaw Stakeholders

IJAW STAKEHOLDERS OF WARRI FEDERAL CONSTITUENCY

As the struggle for the truth and equity intensifies, the Ijaw Stakeholders have urged INEC to act boldly and without fear, while calling on the federal government, international observers, and Nigerian public to support a rebalancing rooted in constitutional fairness nd historical facts. With the tides of history turning, the statement concludes with a passionate appeal: coexistence remains possible-but only on the foundations of truth,not illusion.