Izon-Urhobo Communique on the Peace Summit on Warri Crisis

URHOBO HISTORICAL SOCIETY

THE WARRI CRISIS PEACE CONGRESS
(NORTH AMERICA)

on
Sustainable Peace Among
Izon, the Itsekiri and the Urhobo in Warri & its Environs

Conference Room, School of Engineering Building,
Howard University, 2300 6^th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20059

Saturday, July 24, 1999

Source:
Subject: Fw: Re: Izon-Urhobo Communique. Help to circulate
Date: Tue, 7 Sep 1999 20:31:09 +0200
From: "Orevaoghene Charles Obaro" <impexma@online.no>
To: <Undisclosed.Recipients@online.no>
-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Edevbie <kevtrics@juno.com>
To: impexma@online.no <impexma@online.no>; okorog@aol.com <okorog@aol.com>;
ijawassocs@aol.com <ijawassocs@aol.com>
Date: 7. september 1999 19:37
Subject: Fw: Re: Izon-Urhobo Communique. Help to circulate

JOINT COMMUNIQUE
BY
IZON AND URHOBO DELEGATIONS

(Issued: September 7, 1999)

The Peace Summit was convened by Dr. Philip A. Ikomi of George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, and Dr. Mobolaji E. Aluko of Howard University, Washington, D.C., to discuss and seek solutions to the lingering crisis involving the indigenes of Warri and its environs. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Itsekiri, the Izon and the Urhobo, the three indigenous ethnic groups of Warri, who were invited by the conveners of the conference. Discussions broke down at a point where the delegates failed to reach a consensus on some of the agenda items and the format of the communiqué to be issued at the end of the meeting. The deadlock arose from the insistence of the Itsekiri delegation that the title of the Olu, the Itsekiri King and the status of Warri, issues that are of concern to the Izon and Urhobo delegations, be excluded from the agenda and the communiqué. The meeting was subsequently adjourned when it became obvious that no progress could be made in the light of the disagreement over these issues. The Izon and the Urhobo delegates, however, agreed to continue discussions at another venue, Best Western Hotels, Washington Keybridge, 1850 North Fort Meyer Drive, Arlington, Virginia, USA, on the same day, July 24, 1999. After a careful and exhaustive deliberation of issues involved in the Warri conflict, the Izon and the Urhobo delegations resolved as follows:

Condemn all acts of violence, including the wanton destruction of property and the killing of innocent people in Warri and its Environs.
Call on all parties involved in the conflict, to end the fighting in Warri and to cease all hostilities in the area.
Call on the Izon and Urhobo communities in Aladja, Diebiri and Ogbe-Ijoh to find peaceful solutions to the communal conflict engulfing the people in the area.
Call on the Delta State Government to create local government councils in Warri Township to reflect the tri-ethnicity of the city.
Call on the three ethnic groups in Warri to recognize and to respect each other's right of self determination, the pursuit of economic emancipation, and the freedom to develop one's culture without interference from others. In this regard, we urge the Itsekiri establishment and other groups in Nigeria to respect the wishes and rights of the Izon and the Urhobo in Warri, as free citizens of Nigeria, to administer their own local governments and to choose their own kings, if they so desire.
Call on the Federal Government to set up a commission of inquiry to investigate the role of oil companies in the Warri Crisis.
Call on the Governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, to empanel a commission of inquiry to investigate the source of funding for the flow of arms and weapons into the area.
Call on the oil companies to provide job opportunities for the indigenes of Warri and its environs, in accordance with Federal Government Policy, which restricts all employment of non-skilled labor and 70 percent of skilled labor to the indigenes.
Call on the Federal Government and the oil companies to provide scholarship funds for the training of the youth in Warri and its environs, for careers in the oil and gas industry; education, counseling and technical assistance to indigenous entrepreneurs to enhance their business skills in the oil and gas industry.
Call on the Federal Government and oil companies operating in the area to immediately undertake a program of environmental remediation, including the clean-up and the restoration of all lands and waterways that have been polluted as result of oil production activities.
Call on the Federal Government to directly fund the building of roads, provision of potable water, opening of schools and medical facilities and other community projects to help raise the standard of living of the indigenes of Warri and its environs.
Call for the immediate establishment of a true federal structure of government, which allows ethnic nationalities to have full control of their resources with unrestricted opportunities to plan and develop their areas in accordance with their desires and aspirations.
Call for the repeal of all laws/decrees, including Petroleum Act of 1969, Associated Gas Reinjection Act of 1979, Oil Pipeline Act of 1990, Mineral Act of 1990, Land Title Vesting Decree of 1973, National Inland Waterways Authority Decree Number 13 of 1997 and all other obnoxious legislation that deprive the people of Warri and others in the Niger Delta area, the right to their land and control of their natural resources.
Affirm our resolve to join forces with others in mobilizing indigenes of Warri and other Nigerians living in North America to work toward the restoration of law and order in Warri and its environs. To this end, we pledge to use all resources available to us, to bring about peaceful resolution of the Aladja, Diebiri and Ogbe-Ijoh conflict.
Affirm our resolve to continue to seek the cooperation of our Itsekiri brethren in our efforts to find meaningful solutions to the crisis in our common homeland of Warri and its environs.
Affirm our resolve to set up a consultative body with representatives from the Isoko, the Itsekiri, the Izon, the Ndukwa, the Ukwuani, the Urhobo and other indigenes of the Western Niger Delta area to work on issues of common interest to our people and various communities in the area.

Signed

Andrew Edevbie
For The Urhobo Delegation

Francis Ebikefe Porbeni
For the Izon Delegation

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