The Warri North Local Government Council chairman, Honourable Festus Ashima has expressed his sympathy to the families of the victims who lost their lives in the boat accident along the Escravos river in Warri South-West Local Government Area in Delta state.
Hon. Ashima stated this during a peace meeting he convened with stakeholders, community leaders from the Itsekiri and Ijaw ethnic extraction in the council area, councillors, supervisory councillors and the relevant security agencies as emissaries of peace in the area against the background of the rising tension between some persons from the Itsekiri and Ijaw ethnic groups in the state.
The Warri North council boss, while describing the boat incident as very unfortunate, prayed to God to grant eternal rest to the victims and grant those who they left behind the fortitude to bear the loss.
He further harped on the need for all hands to be on deck in preaching the peace message to their fellow kinsmen and women in order to des-escalate the fear emanating from rumoured impending crisis peddled by some mischief makers in the area last week.
”Go to your various communities and inform them that there is no war or crisis in Warri North; Itsekiris and Ijaws in this local government area should see themselves as brothers and sisters rather than enemies,” he maintained.
While decrying the behaviour of some persons targeted towards fanning the embers of war between the two ethnic groups; Ashima urged the emissaries of peace to remind their kinsmen and women of the indelible mark, past crisis and wars have left in the memories of those affected by such regrettable past.
”Please remind our brothers and sisters of how past wars and crises derailed development in our region and how it negatively shaped the lives of those affected. We must allow peace to prevail in all situations,” he emphasized.
He later charged them to be on the look–out for these mischief makers and quickly report them to relevant authorities and security agents closest to them.
