The Community Safety Vanguard has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for what it described as their decisive intervention in preventing a potential ethnic crisis in the Niger Delta arising from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s ward delineation exercise in Warri, Delta State.
In a statement issued on Thursday by its National Coordinator, Comrade Abbas Johnson, the group praised Ribadu’s role in facilitating a power sharing agreement between the Ijaw and Itsekiri ethnic nationalities over the proposed Warri Federal Constituency II.
According to the group, “The timely intervention, carried out under the direct directive of President Tinubu, has successfully averted what could have escalated into a devastating ethnic conflagration and a total breakdown of law and order in the Niger Delta.”
The agreement was reached during a high level meeting chaired by Ribadu in Abuja and attended by representatives of the Ijaw and Itsekiri ethnic groups, alongside senior government officials, including the Director General of the Department of State Services, Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi.
Under the arrangement, the House of Representatives seat for the proposed Warri Federal Constituency II will rotate between the two ethnic nationalities. The Ijaw will occupy the seat for the first two consecutive terms before it rotates to the Itsekiri for the following two terms.
Describing the arrangement, the group said “This balanced and forward looking arrangement guarantees equity, fairness, and sustainable peace.”
The Community Safety Vanguard said the agreement followed President Tinubu’s meeting with Delta stakeholders at the Presidential Villa on June 11, 2026, where he directed representatives of the ethnic groups involved in the dispute to meet under Ribadu’s supervision to develop a mutually acceptable political framework.
The group described the outcome as “a clear demonstration of the President’s commitment to peaceful resolution of conflicts and his well placed confidence in the capacity of his National Security Adviser.”
Signatories to the agreement included former Delta State Deputy Governor Kingsley Otuaro and Dr. Eric Omare for the Ijaw nationality, while Sir A.S. Mene and Chief Robinson Ariyo signed for the Itsekiri. Ribadu endorsed the agreement on behalf of the Federal Government, with Olorogun Victor Okumagba and Chief Westham Adehor serving as witnesses.
The group further praised Ribadu’s leadership style, saying his “pragmatic approach, gentle disposition, unassuming personality, and unwavering honesty” helped build trust and secure consensus between the parties.
It added, “These rare qualities inspire trust, de escalate tensions, and produce consensus even in highly combustible disputes. It is for these very reasons that President Tinubu entrusted Mallam Nuhu Ribadu with this delicate and high stakes assignment, a decision that has delivered remarkable results for peace and stability.”
Concluding the statement, the Community Safety Vanguard said the mediation “did not merely prevent war” but also resolved a dispute that could have threatened the relative peace in the Niger Delta. The group urged stakeholders across the region and the country to embrace dialogue, inclusive governance, and peaceful conflict resolution.
