Itsekiri group rejects Warri ward delineation, seeks independent investigation

The Warri Strategic Forum (WSF), a socio‑cultural organization representing the Itsekiri people, has formally rejected the ward and constituency delineation reports issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the Warri Federal Constituency.

WSF characterised the exercise as fraudulent, claiming it was deliberately designed to favour one zone over another. Chairman Professor Lucky Akaruese and Secretary Dr Patrick Fregene said the delineation aimed to ethnically alter, politically sideline, and strip the Itsekiri of their constitutional relevance.

In a statement, WSF declared: “Speaking as one of the foremost socio‑political vanguards of the Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality, we issue this definitive statement to unconditionally reject the fraudulent fresh ward and constituency delineation reports of the Warri Federal Constituency released by INEC on May 20, 2026.”

“As a law‑abiding ethnic nationality, we fully respect the Supreme Court judgment (SC. 413/2016) mandating a fresh delineation, we nonetheless firmly declare that the apex court did not order INEC to execute a process tainted with institutionalised fraud, severe bias, and administrative corruption. The current exercise is not only an administrative mistake; it is an explicit, hostile and expansionist agenda driven by our neighbouring political actors to ethnically alter, politically eliminate, and strip the indigenous Itsekiri people of their constitutional relevance within the federating units of Nigeria. We must resist this obnoxious miscarriage of justice and fair play with all the energy/opportunities we can muster.”

WSF added: “The Warri Strategic Forum states clearly that the Itsekiri people will not sit idly by while our indigenous electoral relevance is stripped away to satisfy the expansionist greed of neighbouring groups. We have submitted formal objections to the National Headquarters of INEC and the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, and we accordingly demand:”

“We demand an immediate nullification, withdrawal or complete cancellation of the fraudulent so‑called INEC proposal of ward delineation report of April 4, 2025, and that of May 20, 2026, constituency delineation report for the Warri Federal Constituency.”

“We call on the Federal Government to urgently set up an independent panel to investigate the gross data falsification and the high‑level compromises displayed by INEC’s field officers.”

“All compromised electoral officials found guilty of manipulating geographic information systems (GIS) and inventing phantom polling units must face criminal prosecution.”

“Any subsequent redrawing of boundaries must strictly respect historical realities, physical community verification, court rulings, and established ancestral boundaries.”

“While the WSF calls on all Itsekiri indigenes, particularly our resilient youths across the riverine communities, to remain calm and peaceful during this period of consultation, let it be known that we will exhaust every legal, constitutional, and civil avenue to fight this institutionalised injustice. We will not yield our ancestral space, nor will we allow our identity within the Nigerian federation to be erased by administrative corruption.”

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