SAPELE-OKPE/Nigeria: Tension has escalated within the Sapele-Okpe Community in Sapele Local Government Area of Delta State, as members have passed a vote of no confidence in the executive committee led by Chief Onoriode Temiagin, over allegations of secretly amending the community’s constitution and unilaterally creating an additional quarter without due consultation.
The decision followed an aborted monthly meeting held on Sunday, March 1, 2026, at the Okpe Hall, where concerned community members convened after the scheduled gathering failed to hold amid growing disquiet over actions widely viewed as detrimental to the collective interest of the community.
After extensive deliberations, those present resolved to formally withdraw their confidence in the Temiagin-led leadership. Among prominent figures at the meeting were Dr. Kingsley Abeke, Secretary of the Sapele-Okpe Community Land Trust Association; Ufuoma Atose; Ovo Abeke; Bright Abeke; Chief Tom Anirah; Youth President of the Sapele-Okpe Community, Obomine Ekariko; Chief G. Dafinone; and Senator Ede Dafinone, who represents Delta Central in the National Assembly and also serves as Chairman of the Sapele-Okpe Community Land Trust Association.
At the heart of the crisis are allegations that the executive amended the community’s constitution to recognise Otonyasere as a fifth quarter of the Sapele-Okpe Community without consultation with the existing quarters or the Land Trust Association. Members described the move as controversial and potentially injurious to the community’s legal and proprietary interests.
Addressing the gathering, Senator Ede Dafinone disclosed that repeated attempts by the Trust to obtain a copy of the amended constitution had proved unsuccessful.
“For over a year, the Trust has requested a copy of the amended constitution so that we can review it, but as I speak to you, Chief Temiagin is yet to make it available,” he stated.
He further asked if any member had sighted the document, to which the gathering reportedly responded in the negative.
The senator linked the alleged constitutional amendment to an ongoing land dispute between the Sapele-Okpe Community and residents of Otonyasere over land situated within the Forest Reserve Area. He noted that the community had secured favourable judgments at both the High Court and the Court of Appeal, with the matter currently pending before the Supreme Court.
“We are in court with some residents of Otonyasere for the land in the reserve area. We defeated them in both the High Court and the Appeal Court. The matter is now in the Supreme Court. Where the matter is decided in our favour in the Supreme Court, the land will come back to us,” he said.
Dafinone cautioned that recognising Otonyasere as a fifth quarter could undermine the community’s legal standing before the apex court. He also raised concerns over what he described as suspicious instructions allegedly issued to lawyers handling related cases to withdraw matters that appeared likely to be decided in the community’s favour.
He further alleged that the chairman indefinitely postponed the regular monthly meeting upon learning that members intended to demand clarification on the purported constitutional amendment and the creation of the fifth quarter.
In his remarks, Solomon Abeke accused the Temiagin-led executive of high-handedness, alleging that the leadership had adopted an autocratic style of administration.
While some members initially advocated issuing a formal warning to allow the chairman respond to the allegations, others insisted that a decisive action was necessary to protect the community’s collective interest.
Following deliberations, members present unanimously adopted a vote of no confidence in the executive — a decision that was met with loud approval.
However, in the interest of fairness and due process, Senator Dafinone urged that Chief Temiagin be given an opportunity to respond to the allegations. The community consequently resolved that each of the four existing quarters would nominate ten representatives to engage the chairman and allow him address the issues raised.
The outcome of that engagement is expected to shape the next phase in resolving the leadership crisis currently confronting the Sapele-Okpe Community.
