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The House of Assembly of Delta State on Tuesday agreed to relocate the headquarters of a local government area whose siting two years ago had sparked a crisis between Ijaws, the largest ethnic group in the Delta, and Itsekiris.
The relocation of the seat of the Warri Southwest council from the majority Itsekiri town of Ogidigben to the mainly Ijaw town of Ogbe-Ijoh is contained in the Local Government Law of Delta State 1999, which Delta's parliament approved on Tuesday.
Twenty-three of the 29 members of the House approved the bill, three Itsekiri members walked out before the vote and three other
parliamentarians were absent.
There are about six majority Itsekiri constituencies, a media source told IRIN. The Olu of Warri, traditional ruler of the Itsekiri, spoke out against the relocation about a week ago, he said.
Warri Southwest was created in 1996 and the relocation of its headquarters from Ogbe-Ijoh to Ogidigben in 1997 had led to clashes in which many people were killed and property destroyed.
It was also followed by hijackings, hostage-takings and occupations that targeted mainly oil companies.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
