Youths in Aladja and Ogbe-Ijoh Communities in Udu and Warri South-West Local Government Areas in Delta State on Thursday appealed to Governor Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa to find a permanent solution to the boundary dispute between the two communities.
The youth under the aegis of Aladja/Ogbe-Ijoh Peace Vanguard made the appeal during a courtesy visit to the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ Warri Secretariat.
The convener of the pressure group, Rev. Layefa Thompson spoke on behalf of the people.
Thompson appealed to governor Okowa to invite the royal fathers and leaders of thought of both communities to a round table to resolve the age-long land dispute.
According to him, youths from both communities had decided to come together and chat a common course to achieve sustainable peace in the volatile communities.
“As a group, we do not have the capacity to share the land. The royal fathers and leaders of thought from both communities have been having an aged-long confrontation over land ownership.
“So, governor Okowa as the Chief Security Officer in Delta should call the royal fathers and the leaders of thought to a round table discussion because they understand the land better.
“The best time to do the needful is now that there is relative peace in both communities.
“The governor should also bring the warring youth from both communities together and maybe grant them some level of amnesty and collect their weapons from them.
“Any little thing can trigger off the crisis, we do not want a breakdown of law and order in both communities again,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr. Bezi Ighoteguolor from Aladja community said that the youth were tired of fighting each other.
He appealed to Governor Okowa to grant scholarship to children of the deceased who died during the crisis.
“We are planning to meet Governor Okowa to see how the peace can be deepened as it is still fragile,” he said.
It would be recalled that both communities had engaged each other over decades of land ownership which had allegedly claimed lives from both sides.
The group comprised youth from both Ogbe-Ijoh and Aladja Communities.
