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Urhobo, Ijaw communities storm INEC headquarters in Abuja over ward delineation.
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Protesters accuse commission of violating Supreme Court judgment of December 2, 2022.
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INEC pledges review, insists no Nigerian will be disenfranchised.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday came under fresh pressure as Urhobo and Ijaw communities in Warri Federal Constituency staged a protest at its national headquarters in Abuja.
They demanded immediate implementation of a Supreme Court-ordered delineation of wards and polling units.
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The demonstrators, drawn from Warri North, Warri South, and Warri South West Local Government Areas, accused the commission of breaching their constitutional rights by conducting ongoing voter registration without legitimate electoral structures in place.
In a petition signed by 16 community leaders and submitted to INEC Chairman Prof Mahmood Yakubu, the protesters warned that their democratic franchise was being eroded.
“We can no longer wait while our rights guaranteed by the constitution and reaffirmed by the Supreme Court judgment are being undermined,” the petition read in part.
INEC National Commissioner Prof Abdullahi Zuru, who received the petition alongside Secretary to the Commission Rose Oriaran-Anthony, praised the demonstrators for their peaceful conduct and assured them that their grievances would be addressed.
“I want to thank you sincerely for this peaceful approach. The commission will look at your submission and act on it,” Zuru said.
Community leaders, however, expressed frustration at INEC’s inaction months after fieldwork and stakeholder consultations were concluded. Ijaw leader David Jere from Warri North declared: “For Ijaws and Urhobos, we don’t have wards and units to register. Release the final reports so we can participate in the ongoing CVR.”
The Supreme Court had in December 2022 ordered INEC to carry out a fresh delineation of wards in Warri Federal Constituency following claims of imbalance and underrepresentation.
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Fieldwork was completed in July 2024, and a draft report presented to stakeholders in April 2025, but INEC has yet to release the final delineation.
INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee had in April insisted the draft was still under review, urging stakeholders to submit observations.
But with nationwide voter registration already underway, the Urhobo and Ijaw communities argue they are being sidelined.
They warned that they will not back down until their constitutional rights are fully restored.
