Itsekiri youths on Tuesday blocked the entrance of the Delta State Government House, Asaba, to demand the reversal of the ceding of the chairmanship position for Warri North Local Government Council to the Ijaws.
Fresh Angle International reports that protesting Itsekiri youths were drawn from Warri North, Warri South, Warri South-West and Ethiope West in Delta State as well as Benin in Edo State and Lagos.
Chanting: “Ijaw doesn’t have justification to be Chairman of Warri North Local Government Area”, the Itsekiri youths accused Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and other PDP leaders of causing political tension in Warri North Council Area urging them to correct the perceived wrongs before it will be too late.
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Comrade Mone Oris, stated that 25 stakeholders of PDP in Warri North were to select a candidate through primaries, only for “two people from Warri North Local Government Area to arm-twist the process from their homes and choose a candidate to be Chairman of the Local Government Area, without consulting others in the LGA”.
According to Comrade Mone, in a normal democracy, two persons cannot take a decision for 25 persons, saying they want an immediate reversal of the ceding of the chairmanship position of Warri North Local Government to Ijaw.
He called for PDP primary to be conducted by the 25 stakeholders in order to select a rightful candidate as well as allowing a level playing ground for all to participate.
The angry nerves of the protesting youths were assuaged when the Senior Political Adviser to Governor Okowa, Chief Funkekeme Solomon, came to address them.
Solomon commended the youths for being peaceful, assuring that their grievance would be communicated to the governor with a view to resolving it.
He described the governor as a man of peace, “who believes in fairness and equity across all ethnic groups in the state”.
