Isoko South Local Government Area
Headquarters at Oleh. One of the two councils of the Isoko Nation — a land of clans, farms, creeks and oil, bound to Isoko North by language and kinship.
The southern half of Isokoland
Isoko South is one of the two Local Government Areas that make up the Isoko Nation in Delta State, Nigeria. The other is Isoko North, seated at Ozoro. Together they are introduced on the Local Government Areas page.
Oleh is the administrative headquarters and the old civic centre of Isokoland. When the Isoko District Council became a full local government after the creation of the Midwest Region in 1963, Oleh was chosen as the seat. The two councils were only separated in 1991, when Delta State was created and the former Isoko Local Government Area was split.
The people are predominantly Isoko-speaking. Christianity is widely practised; clan custom, festivals and traditional rulership remain strong. The Isoko South Development Union (ISDU) is the LGA-wide progressive union, under the umbrella of the Isoko Development Union.
Towns and kingdoms
Isoko South is built around eleven clan-towns. Each keeps its own traditional ruler, farmlands and fishing settlements. Smaller camps and quarters sit under these kingdoms.
Titles follow the site’s Names of monarchs page. See also Kingdoms & Clans and Towns. Related settlements include Araya (Aviara) and Idheze-Irri. Enwhe does not yet have its own page on this site.
Land, work and oil
Farming and fishing are the older livelihoods. Cassava, palm oil, rubber, yam and plantain still feed households and markets. Creeks and floodplains support fishing communities along the southern edge of the LGA.
After Oloibiri, commercial oil was found at Uzere in the late 1950s. Uzere West and Uzere East have been among the known fields in the area; Olomoro and other host communities also sit in the oil economy. That wealth has not always returned as light, roads or schools — a tension that runs through Isoko public life.
How the council sits in the state
Isoko South is in the Delta South Senatorial District. With Isoko North it forms the Isoko Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.
Unlike Isoko North, Isoko South has two seats in the Delta State House of Assembly. The 2006 census counted 235,147 residents. Later projections put the population above 300,000. Area figures commonly given are about 668 square kilometres.
Council leadership today
The elected Executive Chairman since 15 July 2024 is Hon. (Comr.) Warri Ovoke Friday (also written Friday Ovoke Warri). The previous chairman on this site’s list, Hon. Victor Asasa, served from 8 March 2021.
Local government here is older than the 1991 LGA. The record below starts with the Isoko District Council in 1958, when Hon. J.E. Otobo was chairman, and runs through divisional officers, residents, sole administrators and elected chairmen.
Divisional officers, residents, sole administrators and chairmen
Since the creation of Isoko South local government, it has been governed by officers ranging from divisional officers to residents, sole administrators and chairmen.
| S/No. | Name | Position | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hon. J.E. Otobo | Chairman | 23 May 1958 – 19 November 1959 |
| 2 | Mr. F.O. Omodior | Chairman | 20 November 1959 – 3 June 1960 |
| 3 | Mr. J.K. Oziwo | Chairman | 4 June 1960 – 20 August 1961 |
| 4 | Chief J.U.E. Agbaza | Chairman | 21 August 1961 – 30 November 1968 |
| 5 | Mr. F.I. Ikpefan | Divisional Officer | — |
| 6 | Mr. J.A. Otutu | Divisional Officer | — |
| 7 | Mr. R.A. Okaka | Divisional Officer | 21 August 1971 – 23 September 1971 |
| 8 | Mr. J.O. Uponi | Divisional Officer | 24 September 1971 – 30 May 1974 |
| 9 | Mr. J.Y. Sule | Divisional Officer | 1 June 1974 – 30 November 1974 |
| 10 | Mr. F.O. Ekemike | Resident | 1 December 1974 – 11 December 1975 |
| 11 | Chief S.O. Akpotu | Chairman | 15 January 1976 – 31 December 1976 |
| 12 | Mr. F.O. Aimufua | Resident | 1 June 1977 – 31 August 1977 |
| 13 | Chief J.O. Omu | Chairman | 1 September 1977 – 10 September 1979 |
| 14 | Chief G.O. Akpojene | Chairman | 1 December 1979 – 28 February 1982 |
| 15 | Mr. J.A. Agware | Chairman | 1 March 1982 – 30 September 1983 |
| 16 | Mr. S.O. Okoroze | Chairman | 1 October 1983 – 1 December 1983 |
| 17 | Mr. S.O. Ogoh | Sole Administrator | 1 February 1984 – 11 February 1986 |
| 18 | Major E.U. Uzamere | Chairman | 12 February 1986 – 28 June 1986 |
| 19 | Mr. E.O. Eziashi | Sole Administrator | 31 June 1986 – 31 December 1986 |
| 20 | Mr. J.I. Ukpedor | Sole Administrator | 1 January 1987 – 31 December 1987 |
| 21 | Mr. M.C.O. Eto | Chairman | 11 January 1988 – 31 July 1989 |
| 22 | Mr. L.E. Ejohwomu | Chairman | 1 September 1989 – 31 December 1990 |
| 23 | Mr. P.O. Oju | Chairman | 1 January 1991 – 16 September 1991 |
| 24 | Mr. P.F. Fuludu | Sole Administrator | 30 September 1991 – 2 December 1991 |
| 25 | Mr. J.E. Osima | Chairman | 30 December 1991 – 8 November 1993 |
| 26 | Major G.O. Igbehen | Chairman | 7 April 1994 – 29 March 1996 |
| 27 | Chief Iduh G. Amadhe | Chairman | 30 March 1996 – 23 March 1997 |
| 28 | Mr. Benjamin Ogbalor | Chairman | 24 March 1997 – 20 July 1998 |
| 29 | Dr M. Ebereme | Sole Administrator | 23 July 1998 – 20 September 1998 |
| 30 | Dr M. Ebereme | Chairman | 21 September 1998 – 2 June 1999 |
| 31 | Hon. Mike E.B. Igbuku | Chairman | 3 June 1999 – 2 June 2002 |
| 32 | Hon. Fegurson Onwo | Chairman | 24 July 2002 – 24 June 2003 |
| 33 | Arc. Joe Iroro | Chairman | 26 June 2003 – 26 December 2003 |
| 34 | Arc. Joe Iroro | Chairman | 19 April 2004 – 19 April 2007 |
| 35 | Hon. Joel Onowakpo | Chairman | 17 October 2007 – 13 May 2008 |
| 36 | Hon. (Chief) Askia Ogieh (JP) | Chairman | 13 May 2008 – 13 May 2011 |
| 37 | Hon. Goodluck Idele | Chairman | 27 October 2012 – 27 October 2014 |
| 38 | Sir (Hon.) Itiako C. Ikpokpo | Chairman | 27 October 2014 – 27 October 2017 |
| 39 | Sir (Hon.) Itiako C. Ikpokpo | Chairman | 8 January 2018 – 5 January 2021 |
| 40 | Hon. Victor Asasa | Chairman | 8 March 2021 – July 2024 |
| 41 | Hon. (Comr.) Warri Ovoke Friday | Executive Chairman | 15 July 2024 – present |
Spellings and early dates are kept as previously published on this page. Send corrections to info@isoko.com.ng.
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