The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has promised to address concerns raised by Ijaw and Urhobo natives from Warri Federal Constituency, Delta State, over the delayed implementation of the Supreme Court-ordered delineation of wards and polling units.

This was after protesters from the two ethnic nationalities stormed the commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, accusing INEC of using an outdated ward arrangement for the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) in Warri North, Warri South, and Warri South-West councils.

The demonstrators, welding placards with different inscriptions, demanded the immediate release and implementation of the Supreme Court-ordered delineation of wards and polling units in the constituency.

INEC had on April 5 presented the report on the delineation of wards and polling units in Warri Federal Constituency in Delta State to the Ijaw, Itsekiri, and Urhobo ethnic nationalities.

The fresh ward and polling unit delineation fieldwork was prompted by the Supreme Court judgment of 2022, which had ordered INEC to conduct the exercise.

The delineation report, presented in Asaba, allocated new wards across the three local governments in the Warri Federal Constituency.

According to the latest delineation fieldwork report for Warri North Local Government Area, the Ijaw have 10 of the 18 wards, while the Itsekiri have eight wards; in Warri South-West, the Ijaw hold 15 wards compared to the Itsekiri’s four; and in Warri South, the Ijaw have three of the 20 wards, whereas the Itsekiri and Urhobo have eight and nine wards respectively.

Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Chief David Reje, accused INEC of conducting the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise in Warri North, Warri South, and Warri South-West councils using an outdated and defunct arrangement.

He said this development undermines their constitutional rights and the apex court’s judgment.

The protesters alleged that their patience was being exploited to disenfranchise them ahead of future elections.

Reje said: “We are fully abreast with the legal attempts and undue influences from various quarters to derail or truncate the process. It was your resilience and resolved determination that made it possible for the proposed registration area (RA) /wards and units to be publicly presented.

“A courage we salute and will not ever take for granted. It is this shared determination and resolve to do the right thing that has kept us patiently for the past five months, hoping that you will conclude the process before commencing a future electoral process through the instrumentality of the ongoing Voter’s Registration exercise in the Warri Federal Constituency, which is an affront to the judiciary.

“We were invited to various stakeholders’ meetings by your electoral officers in Warri North, Warri South and Warri South-West Local Government Area, informing us that you have commenced the continuous Voter’s Registration (CVR) exercise in the aforementioned LGA using the defunct arrangement which fell face down in the eyes of the law.

“Our patience and cooperation are being taken for granted, as you have set machinery in place to disfranchise us from participating in future elections. We can no longer wait while our democratic rights, guaranteed by the Constitution and reaffirmed by the Supreme Court judgment, are being eroded.

“We decided to travel from Warri Federal constituency to draw your attention to our plight and to let you know that we will not allow any institutions or external influences and pressures to allow our inalienable rights to be petered away by those bent on causing confusion in Warri Federal Consistuency, Niger Delta Region and by extension Nigeria.

He vowed that they would continue to occupy the premises of INEC until their fundamental human rights to vote and be voted for are restored, adding that they need a “clear direction and information on where and how we should participate in the ongoing exercise.”

“This trip and protest signals phase two of our commitment to nonviolently restore our political dignity. As you could observe from the series of press appearances and protests on this issue, we have been placed on consistent pressure from our people, which we may not be able to contain in the future.

“INEC should immediately release and implement the report painstakingly embarked upon by stakeholders. We shall not be idly standing by and watch our democratic rights and franchise fretted away”, he added.

Addressing the protesters, INEC National Commissioner Prof. Abdullahi Abdu Zuru assured them that the commission would address their concerns in accordance with the law.

“I have listened carefully, and I will tender this document to the commission. There is no intention whatsoever to disenfranchise anybody from any democratic exercise.

“It is our responsibility, it is our duty to ensure that every Nigerian is given the right to participate. If we don’t ensure that every Nigerian participates in every activity, then we are failing in our duty, and we will not do so.

“That is an assurance. I’m sure we will get back to you. But be assured that we will not do anything to disenfranchise you,” he said.