INEC playing games with Warri wards while ethnic tensions boil

INEC restored some state constituencies in Delta this week but they are completely silent on the ward delineation dispute that is the real problem in Warri Federal Constituency. The commission announced on Thursday that Warri South West II and Warri North II among others are back following court judgements, but that is not what the Ijaw and Urhobo communities are fighting about.

Paul Bebenimibo, one of the community leaders who signed an open letter to INEC, told Premium Times that nobody is arguing over the restored constituencies. The issue is the ward arrangement. Under INEC's final delineation report released on 20 May, Ijaw got 13 wards and Itsekiri got 7 in Warri South-West. In Warri North, it was 10 each. The Itsekiri are now proposing 12 wards for themselves and 8 for Ijaw, which Bebenimibo's group rejects completely. They are asking INEC not to tamper with what it already published.

The commission had assured stakeholders that political parties would conduct primaries in the newly created constituencies in time for 2027 elections, but implementation has not started more than three weeks after the report was released. Meanwhile protesters were occupying oil facilities until leaders called them off after meeting President Tinubu. So who exactly at INEC is responsible for this delay and why are they refusing to confirm whether the ward report will stand as released?