US embassy cable - 03ABUJA907

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 000907 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/14/2013 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PINS, NI 
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: POSSIBLE DEAL FOR WARRI POLITICAL IMPASSE 
 
 
REF: ABUJA 816 AND PREVIOUS 
 
 
 
 
Classified by Ambassador Howard F. Jeter for reasons 
1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
 
1.(C) Post's Corporate Responsibility Officer (CRO) 
met with Temi Harriman, the National Assembly 
Representative (PDP) for the Warri area, on May 13 
in Abuja.  Although she characterized polling in her 
constituency on both April 12 and 19 (National 
Assembly and Presidential/Gubernatorial elections, 
respectively) as almost non-existent, she refrained 
from casting doubt on her renewed electoral mandate. 
She felt she was a strong candidate for Deputy 
Speaker of the House, a position to be decided at a 
May 22 PDP meeting in Port Harcourt. 
 
 
2.(C) Commenting on the ongoing crisis in the Warri 
area, Harriman, an Itsekiri, blamed  the new 
outbreak of violence on Ijaw youth in the Warri 
Southwest Local Government Area (LGA).  She rejected 
Ijaw claims that this LGA is populated predominantly 
by Ijaws.  Similarly, she dismissed Ijaw demands to 
control the majority of the LGA's 10 electoral 
wards, six of which are currently controlled by 
Itsekiri.  Nevertheless, she emphasized that her 
constituency, the three LGAs of Warri, include 
substantial numbers of Ijaw and Uhrobos in addition 
to her fellow Itsekiri; she claimed to be working 
with moderate Ijaw leaders who in turn have given 
her political support. 
 
 
3.(C) During the meeting at Harriman's Abuja 
residence, Jefferson Arubi, the PDP candidate  for 
the Chairman of the Warri Southwest local government 
area, arrived with an "emergency" issue to discuss 
with Harriman.  According to the visibly agitated 
Arubi, the Delta PDP had just reassigned him to run 
for the lower office of Deputy Chairman, while 
elevating an Ijaw candidate to the Chairmanship 
candidacy.  Arubi claimed this was the handiwork of 
Delta  Governor James Ibori (PDP); Arubi said he had 
been told that any attempt to resist this change 
would lead to his expulsion from the party. 
 
 
4.(C) Harriman's immediate response was negative, 
because Warri Southwest LGA had been historically 
controlled by Itsekiri.  Upon reflection, however, 
she noted that this was likely an attempt by the 
Presidency to ameliorate the Warri crisis by giving 
the Ijaw a taste of politcal power in Warri.  She 
advised Arubi to accept the Deputy Chairman position 
and inform the Ijaw candidate that the Itsekiri have 
accepted this move in the name of peace.  The Ijaw 
should not, however, consider the arrangement 
permanent; in four years the Chairmanship should 
revert to Itsekiri control. 
 
 
5.(C) Comment:  The militant Ijaw youth of Warri 
have vowed to block the June 21 LGA elections. 
Ijaws fear the Itsekiri will dominate the elections. 
The effort to give the Chairmanship of the LGA to 
the Ijaw certainly looks like an attempt to help 
defuse the crisis.  While this solution is a stop- 
gap measure and does not address the fundamental 
Ijaw grievances of the Warri Southwest LGA, it 
offers the Ijaw tangible political concessions that 
might help ease tensions.  This gesture by itself, 
however, is probably inadequate to mollify the Ijaw 
militants.  The challenge will now be for 
traditional Ijaw leaders such as Chief E.K. Clark to 
"sell" this development as a meaningful gain to the 
rebellious, sometimes criminally inclined, Ijaw 
youth in the marshy areas of Warri. 
JETER