The Egbema Youth Council, EYC, the umbrella body of youths in Egbema Kingdom, Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State, has said that the decision of the youth body to stage a peaceful protest is against the actions of the state governor Sheriff Oborevwori, and not against the Itsekiris, as insinuated in some quarters.

The EYC, in a statement signed by its president and secretary, Comr. City Eferusuoa and Mr. Ekpokeme Governor, respectively, made this known while responding on Saturday, July 22, 2023, to an alleged plan by its neighbours, the Itsekiri,"to resist the Egbema Ijaw planned protest" over the appointment of two Itsekiris as Commissioners.

Recall that earlier in the week, a Commissioners designate list was said to have been allegedly sent by the Delta state governor to the Delta State House of Assembly for clarification and confirmation. While two Itsekiris from Warri North were nominated, no Ijaw from the council area made the list, an action that irked the latter.

Also, in another earlier development, a leader of a pressure group, the Egbema Integrity Group (EIG), Barr. Francis Abulu, in a press release, had vented his displeasure over the appointments, describing the exclusion of the ijaws in Warri North as "an act of injustice".

The EYC in a released statement, while stressing that their protest is a legitimate one as the group is fighting for justice, made known the its position when it stated that:

"We have four Federal Wards in Warri North as against the Itsekiri Six Federal Wards, an[d] as such they cannot take the two Commissioners slot in Warri North. That it's against the Federal Character principle as provided in Chapter II, section 13,  subsections 4 of the 1999 Constitution . The essence is to avoid the dominance of one ethnic group at the government level.

"That we gave Gov. Oborevwori our four wards in the election just as Itsekiris gave their six wards.

"That the votes that came from Warri North are collective votes and as such the government cannot alienate us by giving the two Commissioners slot to only Itsekiris. These are very clear issues.

"The DSS and the government knows that our agitation is justified; only the mischiefs are bent on a direction to cause trouble. Therefore, by asking the DSS to arrest Egbema Right Activist, Francis Abulu Esq is to stand the truth on the head and to further exacerbate the problem.

"Therefore, we submit that rebellion becomes a lawful thing when it is against oppression. Our protest is against the Government of Sheriff Oborevwori and not Itsekiris," the group added.

The EYC, while it cautioned the Itsekiri to refrain from repeating acts that led to the famous Warri crisis, also stressed that their neighbour's resistance is "a further affirmation of their mistaken belief that the Council belongs to only the Itsekiris, yet cannot find the population to make an homogeneous local government," adding that "Our population is only good to increase their voting strength but not good for appointment! This is so shocking."

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