By Emma Amaize

WARRI—FIVE days to the October 25 local government election in Delta State, the Warri Ijaw Peace Monitoring Group, WIPMG, yesterday, cautioned the Itsekiri ethnic nationality not to cause “another round of crisis” in Warri.

WIPMG, in a statement by its chairman, Chief Patrick Bigha, alleged that the Itsekiri had appropriated the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, chairmanship tickets in the three Warri local government areas. The group said: “There will be trouble if they deny the Ijaw the opportunity to present a candidate, especially in the Warri North and Warri South- West constituencies.

“As it stands now, the PDP flag bearers in the October 25 election in all the three Warri local government areas are Itsekiri. They are hell bent on grabbing all the House of Assembly constituencies in Warri as well as the House of Representatives seat. We smell danger in Warri, hence this warning.”

Pointing out that the Ijaw have suffered enough in the hands of the Itsekiri, the group said, “We write to warn the Itsekiri to be careful so as not to throw Warri and indeed the whole of Delta State into another round of crisis in view of the forthcoming local government election and the 2015 general elections.”