Tension Mounts in Warri South APC Over Congress Planning

Tension is building within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State, following complaints by the Warri Urhobo APC Leadership Council over the handling of preparations for the upcoming LGA Congress Leadership meeting.

In a petition dated February 13, 2026, and addressed to the Delta State Chairman of the party, Omeni Sobotie, the Urhobo leaders accused the outgoing Warri South APC Chairman, Mario Owumi, of compiling and circulating a list of invitees without adequate consultation.

The leadership council maintained that the state party hierarchy had directed outgoing local government chairmen to consult widely with stakeholders and jointly determine the framework for the congress and election of new officials. However, they alleged that this directive was not followed in Warri South.

According to the petitioners, invitations to the February 14 meeting were allegedly sent via text messages from the chairman’s personal phone to selected individuals without engagement with the Urhobo leadership within the local government. They also claimed that the complete list of invitees was neither publicly disclosed nor reviewed by key stakeholders.

The group described the process as lacking transparency and inclusiveness, arguing that it undermines the principle of balanced representation within the party structure. They further expressed concern that the approach appears to favour one ethnic bloc over another.

The council therefore called on the state chairman to ensure equal representation of Urhobo and Itsekiri leaders at the meeting, in line with party directives. They also urged the state leadership to direct the outgoing chairman to carry out proper consultations to guarantee fairness in both the leadership meeting and the election of the next Warri South APC executive committee.

The petition warned that failure to address the concerns and publicly unveil the list of invited leaders ahead of the meeting could prompt the Urhobo bloc to take further action.