BREAKING: Crisis Looms In Warri South APC As Urhobo Leaders Accuse Party Chair Of Hiding Congress Meeting List
Fresh cracks have emerged within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State, as the Warri Urhobo APC Leadership Council has protested what it described as lack of inclusivity and transparency in the composition of invitees for the forthcoming LGA Congress Leadership meeting.
The Warri Urhobo APC leaders said the outgoing leadership had refused to make public the list of invitees for the party meeting ahead of the congress of the ruling party to select and elect new leadership.
In a petition dated February 13, 2026, and addressed to the Delta State Chairman of APC, Elder Omeni Sobotie, the Urhobo leaders accused the outgoing Warri South LGA APC Chairman, Mr. Mario Owumi, of unilaterally selecting leaders for the meeting scheduled for February 14, 2026.
According to a statement jointly signed by Olorogun Bernard Okumagba (Chairman), Hon. Chief Benson Obire (Vice Chairman), Chief Vincent Okudolor (Secretary), Chief Dr. Westham Adehor, Hon. Mark Ikpuri, Rev. Canon David Otofia, Olorogun Victor Okumagba, Chief Isaac Emifoniye, Chief Ann Gagiyovwi and Chief Peter Agiri, called on the state leadership of the party to urgently address the anomaly ahead of the meeting.
The group alleged that the directive of the state party hierarchy required outgoing local government chairmen to consult widely and jointly determine the modalities for the LGA congress and election of new officials.
According to the petition, Owumi, said to be of Itsekiri extraction, allegedly sent out text messages from his personal phone to selected leaders without consultation with the Urhobo leadership in the LGA.
The council described the move as a violation of the principles of fairness, balance and inclusiveness, adding that the full list of invitees was neither disclosed nor subjected to stakeholder review.
They argued that the development undermines equal representation and appears to tilt the process in favour of one ethnic bloc, contrary to established practice in other local government areas.
The Urhobo leaders called on the state party chairman to clearly enforce equal representation of Urhobo and Itsekiri leaders at the meeting, in line with the party’s directive.
They also urged the leadership to call Mr. Owumi to order to ensure proper consultation, transparency and fairness in both the leadership meeting and the subsequent election of the next Warri South APC executive committee.
The petition warned that anything short of equal representation and prior unveiling of the list of invited leaders could compel the Urhobo bloc to take further decisions.
Read the full statement below:
WARRI URHOBO APC LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
February 13, 2026
The Chairman,
All Progressives Congress (APC)
Delta State
Dear Sir,
PROTEST OVER COMPOSITION OF APC WARRI SOUTH LGA CONGRESS LEADERSHIP MEETING INVITEES – UNACCEPTABLE CONDUCT AND LACK OF INCLUSIVITY, BALANCE AND TRANSPARENCY BY THE OUTGOING WARRI SOUTH APC CHAIRMAN MR. MARIO OWUMI
We write to formally express our deep concern and dissatisfaction regarding the arrangements for the forthcoming APC Warri South Local Government Congress Leadership meeting scheduled for 14th February 2026.
It is our understanding that the Delta State Party hierarchy directed outgoing Local Government Party Chairmen (including the Warri South APC Local Government Party Chairman) to consult and come up with the list of Leaders to jointly determine the modalities for the Local Government Congress and election of the LGA officials. This directive was clear and intended to ensure fairness, balance, and inclusiveness among stakeholders.
However, to the greatest surprise of the Urhobo people in Warri South Local Government, the outgoing Party Chairman in Warri South LGA, Mr. Mario Owumi, who is of Itsekiri extraction, has unilaterally selected and sent out text messages from his phone to leaders of his own choosing for the Leadership meeting. There has been no transparency as Mr. Owumi did this without any consultation with the Urhobo Leadership in the LGA. Mr. Mario Owumi has also refused to comply with the requirements of transparency and balance as has been done in other LGAs by allowing a review of the full list of the Leaders he is inviting for this meeting. He has drawn up the list himself, kept it to himself and refused to allow a review of the list by Stakeholders. He is sending out text messages unilaterally to Leaders that he has unilaterally selected. This development clearly undermines the principle of equal representation and appears to be a deliberate attempt to create an imbalance in favor of the Itsekiri at the said meeting. Such an approach is inconsistent with the directive of the State Party leadership and with the practice of transparency observed in other Local Government Areas.
In view of the above, we respectfully call on you to:
Clearly specify and enforce equal representation of Urhobo and Itsekiri leaders for the meeting, in line with the State Party’s directive; and
Call the outgoing Warri South LGA Party Chairman, Mr. Mario Owumi, to order to ensure compliance, proper consultation, equal representation and fairness in the conduct of the Local Government Congress Leadership Meeting and the follow up election process of determining the next Warri South LGA Executive Committee.
We wish to state unequivocally that anything short of equal representation and a prior unveiling and review of the names of the leaders being invited to the Leadership Meeting will leave the Urhobo people with no option but to take further decisions as the outgoing Warri South LGA Party Chairman is currently manipulating the process for the Leadership meeting towards achieving biased and predetermined outcomes for the new Warri South APC LGA Exco.
We trust in your leadership and sense of fairness to address this matter urgently in the interest of unity, justice, and the overall success of our great party in Warri South LGA.
