WARRI — IJAW students from Gbaramatu Kingdom in Warri South-West local government area of Delta State have rejected the five councillors declared winners in five Ijaw wards in the local government in the rescheduled December 2 council poll, arguing that they were "imposed" on the people.
But an official of the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DSIEC) told Vanguard that it was not true that the councillors were imposed on the people. "An election was conducted in the five wards mentioned by the students and at the end of the day, those who won were declared winners. If some people opted not to vote on that day, those who voted did so and elected their representatives," he asserted.
Vanguard gathered that the students were not opposed to Chief Arthur Diden as the chairman of the Warri South-West but were more concerned about the councillors.
The newly-elected chairmen and councillors in the three Warri local government areas would start work effectively today (Monday), having been sworn in by Governor James Ibori last week.
However, the National Association of Gbaramatu Students (NAGS), Federated Niger Delta Ijaw Communities (FNDIC) and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in separate statements, weekend, faulted the conduct of the poll that led to the emergence of the new chairmen and councillors, describing it as fraudulent.
The initial brouhaha was over the authenticity of the membership of the Warri South chairman, Chief Arthur Diden and his Warri South West counterpart, Chief David Tonwe, both of who won under the Justice Party (JP) platform. The controversy was cleared by the state chairman of the JP, Chief Victor Opiah.
FNDIC president, Chief Bello Oboko accused the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DSIEC) of rigging the election to suit the whims and caprices of the Itsekiri people, claiming that the Ijaw in Warri South–West were excluded from the poll by virtue of their not being registered.
He said there was no party nomination, no party primaries, no definite ward structure and yet, the DSIEC "cowardly" went ahead to stage-manage an election and came out with incredible results.
The Ijaw group warned that "until such a period the Nigerian state deems it necessary to ensure equitable participation of the Ijaw of Warri South-West in the political and economic utilisation of their resources and protect the environment, the oil multinationals should cease their operations in Warri South-West Council."
NAGS in a statement, jointly signed by its President and Secretary, Messrs Pondi Kestin and Benenimibo Paul lamented that the Nigerian state has continued to disenfranchise the people of Gbaramatu Kingdom, pointing out that "we don’t see the much acclaimed peace in Warri, rather, we see more problems and conflicts in Warri."
ANPP Sole Administrator in Delta State, Mr. Osaro Onaiwu told Vanguard that "our party is rejecting the purported election in the three Warri council areas because there was no election in the first instance."
