A raging controversy over the delineation of Warri Federal Constituency by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) sparked a tense confrontation in the Senate on Wednesday, with two Delta State lawmakers at the centre of the dispute.

The uproar began during deliberations on a motion moved by Senator Simon Lalong, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, who sought the Senate’s intervention following a petition from the Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality.

Lalong explained that the delineation exercise allegedly marginalised the Itsekiri community by reducing the number of wards in its areas while favouring two Ijaw communities.

He further raised concerns that some communities included in INEC’s coordinates were reportedly located outside Delta State, extending into Edo and Ondo States.

“Based on the strength of this petition, I call on the Senate to thoroughly investigate the delineation exercise to avert what I consider an imminent political crisis,” Lalong said.

The motion, however, quickly drew pushback from Senator Joel Onowakpor (APC, Delta South), who cautioned that the matter was already before the courts and warned that Senate involvement could be seen as interference in INEC’s independent mandate.

Onowakpor’s stance was strongly supported by Senator Ede Dafinone, also from Delta State.

Tensions escalated when Lalong, in an attempt to further clarify the issue, referenced a letter from the Presidency. Onowakpor reacted angrily, accusing Lalong of having a personal interest in the matter.

Earlier in his presentation, Senator Lalong had said that the Senate: “Notes from a petition emanating from the Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality, forwarded to the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, the allegation, bordering on unjust treatment and marginalisation of the Itsekiri

Community in the recent delineation of wards exercise, undertaken by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Warri Federal Constituency of Delta State;

“Also notes that in the alleged delineation exercise, two Communities (Gbaramatu and Oporoza), which hitherto had one Ward each, have been increased to Eight (8) Wards out of the Nineteen (19) created in Warri South-West, however, the Itsekiri Community, which had Six (6) Wards previously, had been reduced to Five (5) Wards in the same Local Government Area, a situation, which has raised a fundamental question and deep apprehension, regarding the high level of injustice and unfair treatment as alleged by the petitioners;

“Further notes from the petitioners that the INEC report of 4th April, 2025, does not accurately reflect the realities on ground in the Three (3) Local Government Areas within Warri Federal Constituency, as captured by the INEC field officers, and this has stimulated myriad of reactions even from the Ijaw Community of Ogbe-Ijoh and some Urhobo groups who have raised concern over the malevolent discrepancies occasioned by the exercise;

“Aware that the mandate of INEC, as enshrined in the Third Schedule Part I, F to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, is primarily geared towards facilitating the conduct of smooth, efficient and credible elections across the country, as such, its roles are administrative and operational within the context of elections and not ethnic profiling of the various local government demography, boundary adjustments for local and state governments, as alleged by the petitioners;

“Notes from the record allegedly made available by the petitioners, the coordinates that INEC used in the proposed units, wards and structures that constitute the Warri Federal Constituency, were such that substantial number of the communities are not within the geographical confines of Delta State, as the coordinates allegedly show that some of the communities are in Edo and Ondo States. This situation prompted the Ijaws of Ogbe-Ijoh to register their protests, which were earlier published in two national dailies, describing the entire exercise as fraudulent;
“Also notes from the petitioners’ allegation that procedural irregularities, statutory breaches, and non-compliance with judicial directives were perpetrated by INEC. They also alleged that INEC refused to obey the interlocutory injection, ordered by the court, restraining it from proceeding with the 12 number wards and structure in Warri South Local Government in 1997 and the substantive judgment, which was awarded in favour of the Itsekiris against INEC in 2003;

“Further notes as alleged by the petitioners that the delineation of Warri Federal Constituency is completely at variance with the spirit and intent of the subsisting judgment of the Supreme Court, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended and the guidelines and manuals of INEC on its mandate with regards to fresh delineation of wards/registration areas and polling units in the Warri Federal Constituency, and this, the petitioners said, questions the neutrality and the independent posture of INEC in the aforementioned exercise; and

“Recalls that due to the non-resolution of the imbalance created by the failure of INEC to obey the said Court judgment, conflicts erupted between the Ijaws, Itsekiris and the Urhobos between 1997 – 1999 and 2002 2003, respectively, hence the need for the Senate to, as a matter of urgency, intervene in order to avert imminent political crisis and to ensure that all anomalies are addressed before the 2027 general elections.”

Despite the flare-up, the Senate eventually agreed to refer the issue to a joint committee comprising the Judiciary, Electoral Matters, and Special Duties committees for a comprehensive investigation.

The committee has been given four weeks to conclude its assignment and report back to the Senate plenary.

Observers noted that the decision represents a measured compromise, balancing the Senate’s oversight responsibilities with respect for INEC’s statutory independence, while addressing the concerns of the Itsekiri community and other stakeholders.