Team Ijaw won the inaugural Warri Unity Games and collected the N10 million top prize. The Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, said the new tournament was created to deepen unity, peace and understanding among Delta State’s ethnic communities.
Quick facts
- Champions: Team Ijaw — N10 million
- Runners-up: Team Urhobo — N5 million
- Third place: Team Itsekiri — N3 million
- Venue: Federal Government College, Warri
- Sports: football, relay races, tug of war and paintball
Team Urhobo took second place and received N5 million, while Team Itsekiri finished third with N3 million. Competitors from the Itsekiri, Ijaw, Urhobo, Isoko, Bini and other communities contested the inter-tribal programme at Federal Government College, Warri.
Ogiame Atuwatse III announced that the Games would be staged every year on the first Saturday during the week marking his coronation anniversary. He said the event would serve as a vehicle for friendship, collaboration and peaceful coexistence among people living in Warri.
The monarch said the project was founded on the understanding that the communities have greater common ground than differences. In his view, unity is essential to shared advancement and prosperity.
He remembered that a comparable carnival held under his father, Ogiame Atuwatse II, was disrupted by violence and unrest. Division and suspicion, he said, prevented Warri from turning the occasion into a cultural celebration recognised across Nigeria.
He added that his reign would focus on correcting that past, with unity, peace, progress and prosperity as its guiding aims.
Ogiame Atuwatse III also revealed that the palace had prohibited insulting labels aimed at neighbouring ethnic communities. He said such language had no further role in the kingdom and appealed to residents to set aside historic disputes, show mutual respect and shape a common future as partners instead of opponents.
He further urged community leaders and other stakeholders to reject violence and pursue legitimate complaints through legal channels. Warri’s streets and its people’s hearts, he said, should be devoted to creating peace, not fuelling conflict.
The Queen Consort, Olori Atuwatse III, attended alongside the Obi of Aboh Kingdom, His Imperial Majesty Dr Gregory Nnamdi Oputa III, and the Ovie of Agbarha Kingdom, His Royal Majesty Kingsley Emakpo Orereh, Ataneru Igbi II.
Delta State Commissioner for Higher Education Prof Nyerhovwo Tonukari represented the state government. Other traditional rulers were also present and praised the initiative as a foundation for enduring peace and development in Warri.
