….Condemn Presidency’s alleged interference
By Akpokona Omafuaire
WARRI—The Indigenous Ijaw and Urhobo people of Warri Federal Constituency, yesterday, staged a peaceful protest over the delay of the implementation of the Supreme Court ordered fresh delineation of Warri Federal Constituency by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, just as they condemned the alleged interference of the Presidency in the matter.
The protest was led by Ijaw and Urhobo leaders, at Ogbe-Ijoh market, in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State, who carried placards with inscriptions such as, ‘FG, allow INEC to do its work’, ‘DSS, stay away from Warri Federal Constituency delineation’, ‘INEC, respect the rule of law’, ‘INEC, implement the approved State Constituencies/RAS you presented on May 20, 2026, in Asaba’, ‘No allocation of Wards and Units’, among others.
An address by the Ijaw and Urhobo leaders was read by the spokesman of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Godspower Gbenekama.
The protesters said the interference by the Presidency was an attack on the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which the president swore to observe and protect.
According to the protesters, “By Section 161 of the 1999 Constitution, INEC is independent in the performance of its duties and the Presidency has no power whatsoever to direct INEC. The 1999 Constitution clearly states that INEC shall not be subject to the direction and control of the President.
“Further more, by Section 287(2) of the 1999 Constitution,the judgment of the Supreme Court is final and all organs and agencies of government have a constitutional duty to implement orders of the Supreme Court without delay or hesitation. In this case, the Supreme Court gave a final decision in SC/413/2016: George Timinimi &Ors V. INEC and therefore, the Presidency has no constitutional powers to stop its implementation.
“We wish to alert the Nigerian people and the International Community that, the interference by the Presidency in the implementation of the judgment of the Supreme Court is an attack on the rule of law and democracy in the Warri Federal Constituency of Delta State in particular and Nigeria in general.”
The protesters insisted that the rule of law must prevail in the matter saying, “The threat to national security being alleged by the office of the National Security Adviser, NSA, to stop the immediate implementation of the fresh delineation is only a subterfuge by the Presidency to alter the final report of the delineation to favour the Itsekiri ethnic group.
“If anybody or group is threatening the peace of Warri as a result of the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment, the Office of the NSA should go after such a person and not disrespect the Supreme Court orders.
“The Ijaw people of Egbema Kingdom in Warri North LGA, who the new State Constituency was created for after more than a century of political oppression and suppression, are eager to elect political party candidates to participate in the 2027 general elections into the Delta State House of Assembly.
“If the Itsekiris are not ready to participate in the election of persons into the new State Constituency in Warri South-West, the Ijaws are ready and should be allowed to participate in the election based on the newly created constituencies and fresh delineation of registration areas and polling units in compliance with the judgment of the Supreme Court.”
Some Urhobo and Ijaw leaders including, Femi Okumagba, John Edgar Eranvor, Dembo Oweikpodor and others aligned with the positions of Gbenekama as they spoke on the matter.
