Jonathan had visited the traditional ruler of the town, the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse II and other Itsekiri leaders, but the expected endorsement for his re-election bid did not see the light of day as the monarch was reportedly not too pleased with the president’s performance as far as the people of warri is concerned.

According to The Nation:

The Itsekiri monarch  “bluntly told the President that he failed the Itsekiri during his tenure” and that he (Olu)  could not guarantee his people’s  votes for him.

The traditional ruler was also said to have told the President that his people even got a better deal from former President Olusegun  Obasanjo.

“He told  the President that as the paramount  monarch of the Itsekiri people, he could advise them on how to vote. Nevertheless, he said it was not possible to go back to tell his people to vote for him considering the raw deal they have received from him.

“The Ogiame particularly lamented the manner the President aborted the groundbreaking ceremony of the $16bn Delta Gas City project at Ogidigben in the  Warri South West Local Government Area of the  State, which was the only benefit his people would have received during his entire six years.”

Apparently worried by the tone of the monarch, President Jonathan was said to have requested for a private meeting with Tompolo and the Akulagba – two of the key players in the controversy over ownership of the lands in the area.

Sources at the meetings said the President  told Ayiri and Tompolo that “he was coming to Warri in two weeks to perform the groundbreaking ceremony and asked them to go and settle their differences in the interest of peace and development of the area.

“Consequently, everybody has agreed in principle to allow the groundbreaking ceremony to take place . We are expecting the ceremony to come up in two weeks time. The president has asked the governor and NNPC to work towards that date.”

The Itsekiri and the Ijaw are laying claim to the project site.