By Emmanuel Ogoigbe
Leaders of the Itsekiri ethnic nationality on Wednesday rejected the proposed delineation of wards, polling units, state constituencies and the creation of an additional federal constituency in Warri Federal Constituency by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), alleging that the exercise was fraught with constitutional, legal and technical irregularities.
Addressing a world press conference at Ubeji Town Hall in Warri, Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State on Wednesday, the Itsekiri leaders accused INEC of relying on flawed fieldwork and disputed Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping data in producing the report unveiled in Asaba on May 20, 2026.
The leaders, who spoke on behalf of the Itsekiri Ethnic Nationality (IEN), insisted that while they fully support the Supreme Court judgment directing a fresh delineation exercise in Warri South, Warri South-West and Warri North Local Government Areas, they could not accept what they described as a defective implementation process.
The conference was addressed and jointly signed by Chief Edward Ekpoko, Prince Yemi Emiko, Sir A.S. Mene, Alex Eyengho and Chief Robinson Ariyo.
They maintained that the Itsekiri people were not opposed to democratic inclusion, electoral reforms or constitutional compliance, but argued that the proposed delineation violated provisions of the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2026 and INEC’s own guidelines on electoral boundary adjustments.
“The Itsekiri people are not opposed to lawful electoral reforms, democratic inclusion or constitutional compliance. We fully respect the judgment of the Supreme Court which directed INEC to conduct a fresh delineation exercise in Warri South, Warri South-West and Warri North LGAs.
“However, we firmly reject the proposed delineation scheme released by INEC because it violates constitutional provisions, disregards the Electoral Act, breaches INEC guidelines and relies on deeply flawed and disputed fieldwork and GIS mapping processes,” the leaders stated.
The Itsekiri leaders alleged that independent geographic and cartographic experts who reviewed the data released by INEC discovered several irregularities, including polling units allegedly located outside legally recognized local government boundaries and some falling within rivers, swamps and uninhabitable terrains.
According to them, some proposed wards and polling units were allegedly mapped beyond Delta State boundaries into neighbouring Edo and Ondo states, while others crossed local government boundaries in violation of INEC regulations.
They claimed that an independent technical review of Warri South-West Local Government Area identified 1,798 registration area polygons, with hundreds allegedly submerged in water, duplicated or located outside the local government area.
The Itsekiri leaders further alleged that some of the disputed polygons were credited to Ijaw communities in a manner they claimed distorted the actual demographic and voter distribution within the affected local government areas.
In Warri North Local Government Area, they alleged that dozens of mapped polygons were located outside Delta State boundaries and that others were improperly assigned to areas outside the council.
The group also accused INEC of failing to conduct adequate fieldwork in several Itsekiri communities within Warri South Local Government Area.
They listed communities such as Ubeji, Omadino, Ifie, Egbokodo, Orugbo, Ode-Itsekiri, McDermott, Ajigba, Inorin, Ugbodede, Usele, Ajatiton and Ifie Kporo as settlements allegedly omitted from the field report despite their significant population size.
The leaders argued that the delineation exercise should have been based on the voter register and electoral data from the 2023 general elections rather than what they described as “manufactured mapping.”
According to the Itsekiri position paper, Warri North had 110,392 registered voters and 192 polling units during the 2023 elections, while Warri South-West recorded 187,116 registered voters and 332 polling units.
They further alleged that INEC created some proposed wards using very few polling units while larger communities with higher voter populations were grouped into fewer wards.
Citing examples, they claimed that some proposed wards in Ogbe-Ijoh area of Warri South were created using seven polling units, while communities such as Orere and Ugborodo had significantly more polling units allocated to single wards.
The Itsekiri leaders also faulted the creation of proposed wards identified as Bolou-Ama and Ewein in Warri South Local Government Area, arguing that the settlements were not indigenous to the area and that some polling units assigned to them belonged to communities in Warri South-West.
Beyond the delineation controversy, the Itsekiri leaders condemned what they described as sustained media attacks by some Ijaw and Urhobo groups against President Bola Tinubu and First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
They accused certain Ijaw groups, particularly from Gbaramatu Kingdom, of sponsoring media campaigns and inflammatory rhetoric over the delineation issue.
While cautioning against threats of violence and actions capable of destabilizing the region, the leaders called on all stakeholders to pursue their grievances through lawful and democratic means.
“We condemn any threats to peace, public infrastructure and regional stability. All parties must respect the rule of law and avoid inflammatory rhetoric capable of creating tension in the Niger Delta,” they said.
The Itsekiri leaders, however, expressed support for the creation of additional state constituencies in Warri North and Warri South-West as well as the proposed additional federal constituency in Warri Federal Constituency, provided the process complies with constitutional and legal requirements.
As part of their demands, they called on the Federal Government to investigate the conduct of the delineation exercise and urged INEC to suspend reliance on the disputed fieldwork and GIS mapping data pending an independent technical verification.
They also appealed to security agencies and oversight institutions to closely monitor the process to ensure transparency, accountability and strict compliance with constitutional provisions.
The Itsekiri leaders proposed what they described as a fair resolution based on the 2023 voter register, recommending that the six Itsekiri wards and four Ijaw wards in both Warri North and Warri South-West be proportionally expanded, resulting in 12 Itsekiri wards and eight Ijaw wards in each of the two local government areas.
They maintained that their position was guided by the principles of equity, justice, fairness and constitutional compliance, stressing that the Itsekiri people would continue to pursue their interests through peaceful and lawful means.
