The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has suspended all activities relating to the delineation of electoral wards in the Warri Federal Constituency of Delta State after Supreme Court ruling sparks protest in the oil rich region in the state.
Confirming the development on Saturday, INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Eta-Messi, said the issue had been referred to the Office of the National Security Adviser. “This matter was brought to the attention of the NSA. So, at the moment, we cannot take any further action,” she told our correspondent.
Although the delineation exercise has been halted, Eta-Messi explained that the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise in Warri would continue as scheduled, using existing polling units and registration areas.
Read also:
- INEC did a good job, nothing will change ward delineation in Warri – Okumagba
- Gov. Oborevwori calls for calm over INEC ward delineation in Warri
- Ijaw, Urhobo warn INEC against tampering with Warri constituency delineation report
The suspension comes just weeks after members of the Urhobo and Ijaw communities staged a peaceful protest in Abuja on September 9. The demonstrators, drawn from Warri North, Warri South, and Warri South-West Local Government Areas, demanded the immediate implementation of the Supreme Court judgment delivered on December 2, 2022, which ordered a fresh delineation of electoral wards in the constituency.
During the protest, the communities submitted a petition to INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, accusing the commission of undermining their constitutional rights. “We can no longer wait while our democratic rights, guaranteed by the constitution and reaffirmed by the Supreme Court judgment, are being eroded. INEC should immediately release and implement the report painstakingly embarked upon by stakeholders. We shall not idly stand by and watch our democratic rights and franchise fretted away,” the petition read.
The Supreme Court had declared that the existing delineation was outdated and no longer reflected the population of the Warri constituency. It ordered INEC to embark on a comprehensive review. In response, the commission began consultations in early 2023, with fieldwork concluding in July 2024. A draft report was presented to stakeholders at a public forum in Warri on April 4, 2025, but INEC later clarified in a statement on April 10 that no final decision had been made and invited further feedback.
Meanwhile, online voter registration for the 2025 elections commenced on August 18, followed by physical registration on August 25, even as the delineation process remains stalled.
This latest suspension has heightened political tension in Delta State, with many analysts watching carefully the next line of action that could reshape the political landscape of the Warri Federal Constituency.
