By Jimitota Onoyume
WARRI—Urhobo and Ijaw youths have come together to enjoin parties in the Ogbe-Ijoh, Aladja, Delta State crisis to give peace a chance, stressing that they should explore dialogue to resolve the issues that led to the fracas that has claimed several lives from both sides.
A joint statement yesterday by the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC and the youth wing of Urhobo Progress Union also appealed to elders of the two ethnic groups in the area to take urgent steps to pursue the path of peace.
The statement by the national president of IYC, Mr Eric Omare and his counterpart in the Urhobo platform, Mr Nicholas Omoko, assured of the willingness of the two groups to support any peace process, adding that they will rally round for its success.
“The IYC Worldwide and the Urhobo Progress Union, UPU- Youth Wing (Ighele), have called for peace between Aladja community in Udu LGA and the Ogbe-Ijoh community in Warri South West LGA, Delta State. Aladja, an Urhobo community and Ogbe-Ijoh, an Ijaw community have been engulfed in communal crisis over land which has claimed several lives with property worth millions of naira destroyed. Socio-economic activities in the two communities have also been paralyzed,” it said.