The group accused Governor Oborevwori of creating ‘artificial kings right on the land owned by Itsekiri people’.
A Pan-Yoruba group, O’odua Nationalist Coalition (ONAC) has asked President Bola Tinubu’s administration to caution Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori over alleged collaboration with some ethnic nationalities in the state to forcefully take territories belonging to the Itsekiri ethnic nationality.
The ONAC accused Governor Oborevwori of appearing to be on a vengeful mission with the sole aim of rewriting the almost 1,000-year-old history of the Itsekiri people that is documented and preserved by local and international authorities.
The group alleged that Oborevwori in collaboration with some officials in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are plotting to delineate wards to reduce the Itsekiti voting potential and further stunt the future of the ethnic nationality.
The group in a statement signed by Chief Akinola Adelugba and Usman Oriola and made available to journalists said it is following with keen interest conscious plans to alienate and subdue the Itsekiri people by all means necessary.
The group said the plan will only fuel a major crisis that may create instability in the Niger-Delta region.
It accused the governor of carrying out policies that overrule various existing judgements of the Supreme Court on land ownership in Warri Kingdom, saying there can never be two kings in one kingdom.
The ONAC said “The Yoruba Nation is blood-bound with the Itsekiri. We stand shoulder-by-shoulder, heart-by-heart and hand-by hand to protect and vehemently defend the interests of each other wherever there is a threat.
“We warn of dire consequences if the Delta State Governor and his collaborators continue with the grand plot to destroy Itsekiri Nation.”
The group accused Governor Oborevwori of creating ‘artificial kings right on the land owned by Itsekiri people’.
It said that since 1999, the government had tried to pick people from the streets and declare them as kings in order to polarise the heritage of Itsekiri people and undermine the ancient authority of the Itsekiri.
The group said, “Royalty is being created where there was one. Crowns are being purchased from street hawkers to establish fake Kingdoms on Itsekiri land.
“The governor should stop his primordial instincts or face serious consequences for his criminal actions.”
The group further warned that the policies of the state government can lead to a conflict.
The coalition said since 1999, successive governments in the state with the exception of former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, have tried to subdue the Itsekiri through various policies calculated to destroy them.
“The Yoruba Nation and Itsekiri will not accept this. We are going to work with our Itsekiri brothers, live together and fight together our common enemies. Any attack on Itsekiri is an attack on the Yoruba Nation,” it said.
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