PRESS STATEMENT
\nWARRI MUST NOT BURN: A CALL FOR DIALOGUE, RESTRAINT, AND GOVERNMENT ACTION ON THE WARD DELINEATION CRISIS
\n1. Introduction
\nThe Warri Boys Association (WBA) has watched with growing concern the rising threats and counterthreats surrounding the political ward delineation in the Warri Federal Constituency (Warri South, Warri South- West and Warri North Local Government Areas), particularly Warri City where we all grew up. As an association with deep roots in Warri, we have deliberately encouraged quiet engagement. However, the current trajectory compels us to speak.<\/p>\n
2. The Danger of Silence
\nWe are all witnesses to the brewing tension. Ethnic nationalities (Urhobo, Itsekiri, Ijaw) and leaders of thought have exchanged strong words. If left unchecked, this will drag Warri back to the dark, ugly years that held our land down, years we are still struggling to overcome. We cannot allow a political process to become an excuse for violence.<\/p>\n
3. Our Position: Dialogue Over Violence
\nWe urge all parties to reject any resort to violence, hate speech, or ethnic mobilisation for conflict. No ward rearrangement is worth a single drop of Warri blood. We call on all parties to immediately embrace a roundtable dialogue, facilitated by genuine leaders without preconditions.<\/p>\n
4. Call to Government
\nWe call on the Delta State Government and the Presidency to take immediate charge. INEC must be transparent and fair. Security agencies must be neutral and proactive, not reactive. The government must guarantee that no ethnic group feels targeted or silenced.<\/p>\n
5. An Appeal to Our People
\nTo our Urhobo, Itsekiri, and Ijaw brothers and sisters: Warri is our only home. Let us not burn it for politicians. Let us dialogue, disagree respectfully, and accept a fair outcome.
\n6. Conclusion
\nWe stand for peace. We stand for dialogue. We stand for Warri.<\/p>\n
Matthew OGAGAVWORIA, FCA
\nPresident, Warri Boys Association| Date: June 7, 2026<\/p>\n
======================<\/p>\n
*_About Warri Boys Association_*<\/p>\n
The Warri Boys Association (WBA), officially known as the Warri Boys Social and Welfare Society, is a non-profit, non-partisan socio-development organization founded in 2006. The association brings together individuals who were born, lived, worked, or schooled in Warri City and share a commitment to the growth and development of Warri and its environs. WBA serves as a platform for promoting unity, social welfare, economic empowerment, advocacy, and community development initiatives. Through strategic engagement, capacity-building programs, educational support, skills acquisition, rehabilitation initiatives, and infrastructure advocacy, the Association seeks to restore Warri’s historic reputation as a vibrant, peaceful, and prosperous city while fostering the values of brotherhood, service, and collective progress.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PRESS STATEMENT WARRI MUST NOT BURN: A CALL FOR DIALOGUE, RESTRAINT, AND GOVERNMENT ACTION ON THE WARD DELINEATION CRISIS 1. Introduction The Warri Boys Association (WBA) has watched with growing concern the rising threats and counterthreats surrounding the political ward delineation in the Warri Federal Constituency (Warri South, Warri South- West and Warri North Local […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":33313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-state"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG-20260608-WA0003-e1780918639301.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4oswh-8Fh","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33311"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33311\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33314,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33311\/revisions\/33314"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}