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.The Coordinator of the Forum of Delta State NGOs, Deacon Okezi Odugala has called for absolute peace in the Warri Cosmopolitan Area.

Odugala in a statement said that the call became necessary as working for peace would help to galvanize positive and sustainable development for the ancient oil city, especially at this time when a Governor from that axis in the person of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori is at the helm of affairs of Delta State, and disposed to redressing the infrastructural decay of the area.

He pointed out that the infrastructural decay is as a result of tribal conflicts that has led to socio-economic under-development.

Deacon Odugala said: “Warri is a wailing entity and in a shadow of itself because of tribal conflicts and it is high time the ethnic groups of ltsekiri, Ijaw, Urhobo and others close ranks and work for the common good of Warri.

“The recent media confrontation between Itsekiri and Urhobo youths is needless, a distraction and a bad omen that must be stopped by men of good conscience.

“We must imbibe the spirit of love, give and take as exhibited by our forebears as there is hardly any of this ethnic groups that have not conjoined naturally through marriage, bringing forth offsprings.

“The selfish grab for land and natural resources should be discouraged and the spirit of give and take be promoted for we are one people.
We like to use this medium to ask everyone promoting communal discord and needless rivalries to stop forwith and support the present administration for the sustainable development of Warri, a cosmopolitan environment that is suffering from mismanagement of human and natural potentials and endownment needing urgent intervention which the present administration of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori is driving a remediation frontally.
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The present award of road and flyovers contracts to Julius Berger the construction giant and other projects will suffer negatively if any crisis erupts in Warri. We must therefore learn from our past mistakes that drove many businesses out of the city and birthing poverty and criminality. It is time for all the tribal groups to come together to enthrone sustainable development as the energy for conflicts should be channeled to how the Warri Port, Steel Plant at Aladja and Refinery at Ekpan and other multi-billion-dollar investments decaying come on stream and much more investments come to Warri and environs.The youths in the different tribal communities should think of innovative collaborative projects and programmes that can reduce poverty and suffering as well as environmental sustainability for Warri is in need of breath and not any further suffocation from hostility of any kind.

“We ‘ll like to call on the Governor of Delta State in partnership with all critical stakeholders to convoke an urgent summit of Warri to resolve any contentious issues and sign a Warri peace pact as a matter of urgency for the sustainable development of Warri and, indeed, every other part of Delta State must be developed sustainably and not politicized and anyone promoting tribal hostility should be dealt with according to the laws of the land as an enemy of the state. We need to model progressive ecosystem if truly we know what we want in this age of digitalization and sustainability,” the leader of Delta State NGOs said.