The Itsekiri ethnic nationality has rejected the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) proposed delineation of wards and polling units in Warri Federal Constituency, describing it as unconstitutional, fraudulent and in breach of a Supreme Court judgment.
Addressing a press conference, the Itsekiri leaders said:“As law-abiding citizens, we chose the path of the rule of law and fully participated in the fieldwork and duly submitted our report as was required of us. But to our shock, INEC released a report full of massive distortions, illegalities, and outright fabrications. What has been presented to us is nothing short of oppression and atrocity.”
They recalled the 2nd December 2022 ruling of the Supreme Court in suit number SC/143/2016 (Hon. Justice Diminimi and others vs INEC), which ordered INEC to conduct a fresh delineation of electoral wards and polling units in Warri South-West, Warri North and Warri South local government areas.
Quoting the apex court, they noted: “An order of this Honourable Court, compelling the defendant, that is INEC, its agents, servants, privies and assigns, to conduct a fresh delineation of all the electoral wards/polling units of Warri South-West, Warri North, and Warri South Local Government Areas of Warri Federal Constituency in Delta State for the purpose of future elections and votes.”
The leaders stressed that the ruling did not invalidate existing wards or the voters’ register, contrary to what they said were false claims by Ijaw and Urhobo leaders.
Presenting findings of a technical review, Bright Omawumi and Shaye Mene of the Bwari Reclamation Trust alleged that INEC’s process was riddled with fraud.
According to them: “We discovered that INEC created and renamed aboriginal communities without authority, duplicated existing ones, and manufactured fictitious communities to favour the Ijaws. Communities were imported from Ondo and Edo States into Warri North, while Ughelli South, Udu, and Uvwie were imported into Warri South-West to increase Ijaw numbers over the Itsekiris.”
They added: “INEC adjusted boundaries illegally, created voting units outside the voter register, and even used the same coordinates for multiple units in different wards. We saw forests and rivers marked as polling units — are fishes supposed to come and vote?”
The delegation further accused INEC of discriminatory practices: “INEC created wards with less than 50 units, which violates its own guidelines, while heavily populated Itsekiri areas with more than 100 units were ignored. They even renamed our communities with strange names like ‘Christmas Belly,’ ‘Headmaster Belly,’ and ‘Pondy Belly’.”
On Okenrenkoko, they declared:
“INEC shockingly pushed aside the Supreme Court judgment by creating fictitious communities for the Ijaws of Gbaramatu within Okenrenkoko, and attempted to rename Itsekiri communities to suit this fraud.”
‘We Will Resist Injustice’,Concluding, the leaders said the entire INEC exercise was illegitimate.
“The so-called delineation exercise by INEC is unconstitutional, fraudulent, and unacceptable. We totally reject the purported wards and polling units as they do not comply with the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022, or the Supreme Court judgment. What INEC has attempted to foist on us is nothing but injustice, and we will resist it using every lawful means.”
Boluwatife Enome
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