The Political Chessboard of Warri: How Ethnic Tensions Shaped the Fate of Polobubo (Tsekelewu)
The Political Chessboard of Warri: How Ethnic Tensions Shaped the Fate of Polobubo (Tsekelewu)
By Prince Agbedeyi O. D | Edited by Evang/Prophetess Seigha Dora Ayedi
Published in Global Egberi Media International
Introduction
The story of Warri’s local government politics in the 1970s reads like a gripping political thriller—ethnic rivalry, electoral suspense, and state-backed maneuvering all clashing in a fierce battle for control. At the heart of this turmoil lies the oil-rich Ijo town of Polobubo (Tsekelewu), whose transfer from Delta to Ondo State altered the course of local governance and exposed the deep fissures of ethnic politics in Nigeria’s Niger Delta.
An Election Without a Winner
The Warri Local Government elections of the 1970s featured a power tussle among the three major ethnic groups in the region: the Ijo, Itsekiri, and Urhobo. The electoral outcome was as fragmented as the politics it represented—Itsekiri won five (5) seats, Urhobo secured four (4), and the Ijo had two (2). No group could form a majority on its own (South-South Journal of Humanities and International Studies, p. 308).
Chairmanship contenders emerged from the Urhobo and Itsekiri camps: Chief Daniel Okumagba and Chief E.N. Begho, respectively. But the councillor votes proved inconclusive—Okumagba had eight (8), Begho seven (7)—leaving the two Ijo councillors as potential kingmakers (Ofoegbor, 2004).
A Sudden Directive from Above
Just when the Ijo councillors appeared poised to tip the balance in favor of the Urhobo, an abrupt and controversial directive arrived. The then Military Governor of Bendel State, Navy Commodore Husseni Abdullahi, ordered the transfer of the Ijo town of Polobubo (Tsekelewu) to Ondo State “with immediate effect.” The justification was unclear, but the timing suggested political calculation rather than administrative logic (South-South Journal of Humanities and International Studies, p. 308).
As a result, Chief Godwin Osemi—the councillor representing Tsekelewu—was forcibly removed from the Warri Local Government Council, thereby eliminating a critical Ijo vote that could have gone to Okumagba. This maneuver effectively blocked the Urhobo’s path to chairmanship.
The Lingering Fallout
Chief E.K. Clark, in his June 5, 2003 publication in Vanguard Newspaper, pointed out the irony: despite the official transfer of Polobubo to Ondo State, the community continued to be administered from Benin City. The community remained caught in administrative limbo, even as Delta and Ondo States fought over its jurisdiction— a battle driven less by governance and more by the control of oil revenues.
Conclusion
The Tsekelewu transfer was not just a bureaucratic decision—it was a strategic political move rooted in ethnic distrust and the high stakes of oil politics. The entire episode underscores the vulnerability of minority communities in the power struggles of larger ethnic entities and calls for renewed attention to fairness and inclusivity in local governance.
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