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By Lukman Olabiyi
A coalition of over 130 pan-Yoruba groups under the banner of the Alliance for Yoruba Democratic Movements (AYDM), has called on President Bola Tinubu to take immediate action to avert a looming crisis in the Niger Delta .
The group warned that the current political and economic marginalization of the Itsekiri people could ignite renewed hostilities, threatening national stability and oil production in the region.
The call was made at press conference in Lagos yesterday, where AYDM’s General Secretary, Comrade Popoola Ajayi, appealed for urgent intervention from both the Presidency and the National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu.
Popoola, in company with other Yoruba and Itsekiri leaders including Wale Osun, Kunle Oshodi, Thompson of the Oodua Peoples Congress, and prominent Itsekiri figures such as :Edgar Oritsemeyin and Kingsley Tenumah, expressed deep concern over several developments they claimed were fueling ethnic tensions in Warri area.
According to AYDM, the proposed Ward Delineation Exercise ( WDE) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Warri Federal Constituency is at the heart of the brewing crisis.
The group alleged that the delineation favours non-Itsekiri groups, thereby politically disenfranchising the indigenous Itsekiri population.
Other grievances include: exclusion of the Itsekiri from oil pipeline surveillance contracts and a growing threat of arms proliferation in the region.
“We are compelled to raise our voice due to the emerging crisis in the Niger Delta and its far-reaching implications for democracy and the rule of law in Nigeria. If the government fails to act swiftly, we risk a repeat of the violence that engulfed the region in the 1990s,”Popoola said.
He noted that INEC’s current ward structure no longer reflects the historical demography of the area.
