The delay in the release and implementation of the controversial fieldwork report of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in Warri Federal Constituency as ordered by the Supreme Court would impede the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration exercise in the area.
Nigeria’s crude oil production output may also be disrupted if “INEC fails to do the needful”.
This was the position of the indigenous Ijaw and Urhobo people of Warri at a world press conference in Effurun, Delta state, Monday, were they warned that conducting the CVR was in defiance of the Supreme Court order and an attempt to disenfranchise their communities.
At the briefing which had over a thousand indigenes in attendance, representatives of the two ethnic blocs declared that no lawful voter registration or election can take place in Warri until INEC complies fully with the 2022 Supreme Court judgement that mandated a fresh delineation of electoral wards and polling units.
Recall that in December 2022, Nigeria’s apex court ruled that INEC should immediately redraw the political map of Warri’s three Local Government Areas, Warri South, South-West, and North, before any future election.
INEC in July 2024, carried out the field delineation and in April 2025, released and initial report of the exercise that resulted in series of pro and counter protests by stakeholders, which also led to the shutting down of a flow station at Ogidigben in Warri Southwest.
Now, the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) drive by INEC is sparking outrage among stakeholders who are accusing INEC of a ploy to disenfranchise their communities.
In a jointly signed statement read by Chief Victor Okumagba on behalf of the the indigenous Ijaw and Urhobo people, they maintained the flawed electoral structure contributed to the violent Warri crises of 1997–1999 and 2002–2003.
They accused INEC of being compromised by “selfish external influences” and acting under the direction of unnamed political actors bent on maintaining a flawed power structure in Warri.
The statement added that until the delineation exercise was completed, “it is criminal, illegal and contemptuous of the Supreme Court judgement by INEC, proceeding with the registration of voters in Warri Federal Constituency as there are no longer in existence electoral wards and units upon which the ongoing voter’s registration can stand.”
The statement further demanded that “INEC should immediately release and implement the report painstakingly embarked upon by stakeholders.
“We shall not idly standby and watch our democratic rights and franchise fretted away by INEC’s lawlessness and disastrous irresponsibility.”
Leaders from Okere Urhobo, Gbaramatu, Egbema, Isaba and Diebiri kingdoms in their separate remarks, called for an immediate halt to all voter registration and electoral activities in the Warri Federal Constituency until the final delineation report is published and implemented by INEC, emphasizing their rights to be part of Nigeria’s electoral process.
In his remarks, Spokesman of Gbaramatu Kingdom, High Chief Godspower Gbenekama, stressed that the Ijaws and Urhobos “are not a people that live in outside their environment,” which he noted owns a huge part of the Nigeria’s oil and gas resources.
He therefore warned against any act that could trampled on their “democratic rights”, appealing to INEC to do what it is constituted to do.
Chief Gbenekama also doused concerns of conflict in Warri, stating, “there is no crisis in Warri as far as Ijaws and Urhobos are concerned. Warri is peaceful, so INEC should come and complete the delineation exercise.”
