Following the recent delineation of Warri Constituency by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, hoodlums have shot one person dead and razed several houses.
The incident occurred on Sunday night on Odion Road, Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State, DAILY POST reports.
Our correspondent, who has been monitoring the situation in the town, reports that soldiers, police, and other security operatives have been deployed to the area to prevent further breakdown of law and order.
There have also been protests by some Itsekiri youths who feel they have been politically shortchanged by INEC.
A prominent Itsekiri chief, Eyewuoma, in a statement this morning, vowed that the Itsekiri people would seek redress using every legal means at their disposal.
According to the delineation by INEC, the Itsekiri appear to have lost out significantly, and this has not been well received.
The delineation was concluded following a Supreme Court ruling.
With the new political arrangement, the Urhobos of Warri and the Ijaws seem to have benefitted more politically.
There are fears that this political settlement may cause further crises between the Ijaws and Itsekiris, as it seemed that the man killed was an Ijaw man. On the other hand, it may also lead to another crisis between Urhobos and Itsekiri.
DAILY POST recalls that INEC presented its report on the delineation of wards and polling units in the Warri Federal Constituency, Delta State, to the Urhobo, Itsekiri, and Ijaw ethnic nationalities last Friday.
The report was presented to community representatives by the State Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC, Sir Etekamba Udo Umoren, at a stakeholders’ meeting held in Asaba, the state capital.
The report was received on behalf of the Urhobo, Itsekiri, and Ijaw ethnic nationalities by Chief Victor Okumagba, Dr. Andrew Igban, and Dr. Joe Bisina, respectively.
INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, who spoke during the ceremony, noted that this was the fifth engagement meeting with stakeholders since the Supreme Court ruling delivered on 2 December 2022, which mandated INEC to carry out the delineation of wards and polling units in the three local government areas of the federal constituency.
Professor Yakubu, represented by INEC’s National Commissioner supervising Cross River, Delta, and Edo States, Professor Rhoda Gumus, said that the presence of the stakeholders demonstrated their commitment to democratic principles and their belief in INEC as an unbiased body.
“We recall that in our last engagement meeting on the 8th of July, 2024, in Warri Federal Constituency, we concluded all discussions with stakeholders and promised to commence the fieldwork of the wards in the constituency. The Commission carried out the exercise between the 10th and 27th of July, 2024,” he said.
“The entire people of Warri Federal Constituency played their role as committed citizens,” he added.
He also expressed gratitude to the Governor of Delta State for providing the enabling environment for the exercise.
In his remarks, the State Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC, Sir Etekamba Udo Umoren, described the event as significant because it reflected the determination, resilience, and unity of purpose of all concerned to move beyond the Supreme Court ruling of 2nd December 2022 to the present stage.
“The Report of the fieldwork is a critical cornerstone towards the implementation of the Supreme Court-ordered delineation of wards and polling units in Warri Federal Constituency, Delta State,” he said.
Umoren added that before arriving at this point, several stakeholders’ meetings had been held, including one on the 15th of February, 2023, followed by an expanded stakeholders’ meeting in Asaba on the 21st of March, 2024, and another in Warri on the 8th of July, 2024, before the Commission commenced the fieldwork exercise from the 10th to the 27th of July, 2024.
A source from the ethnic nationalities disclosed the results of the report, stating that in Warri North, the Ijaws have 10 wards while the Itsekiris have 8; in Warri South West, the Ijaws have 15 wards, while the Itsekiris have 4; and in Warri South, the Ijaws have 3 wards out of the 20 wards, with the Urhobos of Warri having the majority.
