Olu of Warri's Aide Warns Against Ethnicising Pipeline Surveillance Dispute

Edema said unguarded allegations involving sensitive issues such as oil resources, contracts and community interests could revive old grievances among Ijaw, Itsekiri and Urhobo communities.

He was reacting to a claim by Niger Delta activist Asari Dokubo that the Olu of Warri receives N2.7 trillion annually from pipeline surveillance contracts.

In a statement made available to WSentinel News on Tuesday, Edema rejected the allegation and challenged Dokubo to produce documentary evidence to support it.

He, however, said the controversy should not be allowed to degenerate into another ethnic or political confrontation in the region.

According to him, “loose or unguarded assertions can have consequences beyond the immediate argument,” as they could reinforce suspicions, revive old grievances and give room for issues to be interpreted through an ethnic lens.

Edema noted that Dokubo’s long history in Niger Delta militancy and political activism gives his public interventions considerable attention, but stressed that forceful rhetoric should not be confused with evidence.

The Olu’s representative also questioned the political context of Dokubo’s latest intervention, noting that the activist had previously criticised Chief Government Ekpemupolo a.k.a Tompolo over the pipeline surveillance arrangement and the wider Gbaramatu-Itsekiri dispute, but had more recently defended him against criticism.

He said the change in position did not, by itself, establish bad faith, but made it legitimate for the public to ask what had changed and what evidence now supported the claims.

Edema urged stakeholders to exercise restraint, particularly at a time when efforts were being made to preserve peace in the Niger Delta.

“The Warri question involves communities with long and complicated histories of grievance and competition. Ijaw, Itsekiri and Urhobo relations require responsible leadership, not rhetoric that can easily be interpreted as provocation,” he said.

He stressed that allegations concerning pipeline surveillance should be subjected to independent scrutiny through relevant contracts, procurement processes, government approvals and regulatory records.

He warned that the Niger Delta had already paid a heavy price for politics conducted through confrontation and inflammatory rhetoric, urging public figures to avoid statements capable of reopening ethnic anxieties.

The controversy, he said, should be resolved through facts, accountability and institutional oversight rather than political rhetoric or ethnic suspicion.