ABUJA: The Ijaw and Urhobo people of Warri Federal Constituency, Delta State, on Tuesday staged a peaceful protest at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC in Abuja, demanding the immediate release of the final report on the Supreme Court-ordered delineation of wards and polling units in the constituency.
The protesters said the release of the report was critical to their participation in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration CVR exercise.
Carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Warri Federal Constituency: No Ward, No Units for CVR”, “CVR Today is Political Fraud in Warri Federal Constituency” and “INEC, Give Us the Final Report”, the groups threatened to occupy INEC headquarters if their demands were not met.
The protest was led by notable leaders including Dr Joel Bisina, Olorogun Victor Okumagba, Chief Godspower Gbenekama, Chief John Eramvor, Dr Paul Bebenimibo, Chief Sylvester Femi Okumagba and several others.
In their petition, the Ijaw and Urhobo communities accused INEC of frustrating the process despite a clear Supreme Court directive.
“Our patience and cooperation are being taken for granted. We can no longer wait while our democratic rights, guaranteed by the constitution and reaffirmed by the Supreme Court, are eroded. We will continue to occupy your premises until our right to vote and be voted for is restored,” the petition stated.
The groups also warned that while their protest remained peaceful, rising pressure from their communities might escalate if INEC continued to delay implementation.
Addressing the protesters, INEC National Commissioner, Prof. Abdullahi Zuru, alongside the Commission’s Secretary, Rose Anthony-Oriaran, assured that their grievances would be forwarded to the appropriate authorities.
“INEC is a law-abiding institution. We have no intention whatsoever to disenfranchise anybody. Every Nigerian must be part of the electoral process. The issues you raised will be looked into, and the Commission will respond appropriately,” Zuru said.
The Warri constituency delineation crisis has dragged on for months, with some stakeholders accusing INEC of stalling on implementing the Supreme Court judgment, thereby risking political exclusion of certain sections of the populace.
