Former Delta State Commissioner for Finance and Chairman of the Warri Urhobo APC Leadership Council, Olorogun Bernard Okumagba, has called on the Itsekiri, Ijaw and Urhobo ethnic nationalities in Warri Federal Constituency to bury their differences and embrace peace, mutual respect and brotherly coexistence.
Okumagba made the call in a statement issued on Saturday, stressing that sustained peace among the three indigenous ethnic groups was critical to unlocking development, investment and prosperity in Warri.
The former commissioner, who is the Udu of Okere-Urhobo Kingdom and Eruvwu R’Ovie of Agbarha Warri Kingdom, said continued peace would enable the people to channel their collective energy towards tackling the development challenges confronting the area.
“Peace and brotherliness amongst all ethnic nationalities in Warri Federal Constituency will ensure that all our energies are devoted to bringing development to Warri and enhancing the livelihoods of all our people in Warri,” he said.
Okumagba urged the people to embrace peaceful brotherhood and resolve disagreements through dialogue and mutual respect, rather than allowing differences to derail the progress of the constituency.
He said the immediate priority should be collective action to attract infrastructure projects and investments to Warri, revitalise the ports and create an environment where businesses can thrive and residents across the ethnic groups can secure gainful employment.
According to him, “Our focus should now be on working together across all ethnic nationalities — Itsekiri, Ijaw and Urhobo — to attract infrastructure projects and investments to Warri Federal Constituency; working together to get our ports fully revitalised; and working together to ensure gainful employment and thriving businesses for our people from all ethnic nationalities in Warri.”
The APC chieftain further called for unity and respect for the various traditional institutions and kingdoms, insisting that inter-ethnic harmony remained essential to the future of Warri.
“Let us work towards unity among all our people of Warri with mutual respect for our various kingdoms, inter-ethnic harmony and love for one another,” he said.
Okumagba described the Itsekiri, Ijaw and Urhobo as neighbours who must build a culture of peaceful brotherliness for the benefit of present and future generations.
“We are neighbours and should promote good and peaceful brotherly neighbourliness for the benefit of all our people of all ethnic nationalities in Warri. Let us promote love,” he said.
He urged stakeholders and residents across Warri Federal Constituency to make peace, progress and prosperity the common agenda, rather than allowing ethnic differences to stand in the way of development.
