Ijaw and Urhobo leaders have commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for releasing the final report of the ward delineation exercise in the Warri Federal Constituency.
Speaking during a joint media briefing, leaders of both ethnic nationalities expressed satisfaction with the final report on the Supreme Court-ordered delineation of electoral wards and polling units in the Warri Federal Constituency of Delta State.
It would be recalled that on May 4, 2026, the Ijaw and Urhobo groups had called on INEC to release the final report of the fresh delineation exercise ahead of the 2027 general elections, in compliance with the Supreme Court judgment delivered on December 2, 2022.
The groups had earlier warned in December last year that no election would take place in the Warri Federal Constituency if INEC failed to conclude the delineation exercise and release its report. They also threatened to shut down oil facilities in the area.
However, reacting yesterday, the Ijaw and Urhobo leaders applauded INEC for complying with the order of the Supreme Court by releasing the report.
They further praised the commission for creating additional State House of Assembly constituencies for Warri North and Warri South-West local government areas, as well as directing political parties to immediately begin primaries to nominate candidates for the new constituencies ahead of the 2027 elections.
The groups also commended INEC for recommending the creation of an additional federal constituency, Warri Federal Constituency II, for Warri North and Warri South-West local government areas.
In a joint statement signed by Olorogun Victor Okumaga, Alaowei Denbo-Denbofa Owerkpodor, Dr. Paul Bebenimibo, and Chief John Edger Etonvor, the Ijaw and Urhobo leaders stated that INEC’s actions had substantially addressed longstanding political agitations and restored peace in the Warri Federal Constituency.
Meanwhile, the Itsekiri Leaders of Thought (ILOT) have rejected the fresh delineation of wards, polling units, and state constituencies proposed by INEC for the Warri Federal Constituency.
ILOT described the process that produced the proposal as fraudulent, alleging that the fieldwork and GIS mapping carried out by INEC did not comply with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Electoral Act 2026, and INEC’s own guidelines on ward and polling unit delineation.
In a statement issued by the Secretary of ILOT, Sir Amorighoye Mene, the Itsekiri group rejected INEC’s recommendations.
According to the statement, ILOT rejected the “new proposed fresh delineation of wards, polling units, state constituencies, and one additional federal constituency in Warri arising from the fieldwork and GIS mapping conducted by INEC and released on May 20 in Asaba, Delta State.”
The group, however, acknowledged the creation of two additional state constituencies and one federal constituency but insisted that the composition was based on what it described as previously rejected fraudulent data released by INEC on April 4, 2025, in Asaba, Delta State.
