President Bola Tinubu has stepped in to resolve the lingering dispute over the ward delineation exercise in the Warri Federal Constituency, hosting leaders of the Ijaw, Itsekiri and Urhobo ethnic nationalities at the presidential villa in Abuja. At the meeting, the president appealed for peace and compromise among the three groups and directed an adjustment of the ward structure that had been at the heart of the disagreement.
Beyond the immediate adjustment, Tinubu mandated the three ethnic groups to work together with the National Security Adviser on a framework for power sharing and political rotation. The move was aimed at putting in place a longer-term arrangement that could keep the peace in an area where competition over representation has repeatedly stoked tension.
The president's intervention quickly produced results, prompting a press conference in Warri at which Ijaw and Urhobo leaders confirmed that they had accepted the adjustment. Their public endorsement signalled a willingness to step back from confrontation and to give the new arrangement a chance, at least for now.
Even so, the acceptance did not come easily. The leaders acknowledged that the change had reduced the number of wards originally recommended for Ijaw communities, describing the outcome as a difficult compromise that they were prepared to live with in the interest of peace and stability across the constituency.
At the same time, the groups voiced concern over what they saw as attempts to narrow the discussions on the broader power-sharing arrangements during follow-up meetings facilitated by the National Security Adviser. They made clear that they expected the wider conversation about representation and rotation to be honoured rather than quietly scaled back.
Reaffirming their commitment to peace, the leaders declared that they would resist any further alteration to the delineation reports released by the Independent National Electoral Commission on the twentieth of May. As stakeholders continue to weigh the balance between compromise and representation, the shared call for calm has emerged as the common ground holding the fragile agreement together.