Over 100 Urhobo and Itsekiri residents of Warri South Local Government Area on Wednesday besieged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Asaba, protesting what they described as the imposition of fictitious wards and polling units in the ongoing delineation exercise.
The protesters warned that unless INEC corrected the alleged irregularities, the exercise could distort political representation and threaten peaceful coexistence in Warri South ahead of the 2027 general elections.
They called on the commission to correct what they described as errors in the delineation exercise and to ensure that the electoral structure reflected the genuine ancestral settlements and interests of the different ethnic groups in the local government area.
Addressing the protesters, an Itsekiri leader, Samuel Meyiwa, said the community had earlier embraced a political solution to the dispute following meetings involving stakeholders at the office of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources. He said the understanding reached was that fictitious names and addresses allegedly introduced into the Warri South electoral records should be removed.
Meyiwa, however, expressed disappointment that the list subsequently released by INEC did not reflect the agreement. He alleged that unfamiliar names and addresses had been introduced into the electoral records, questioning how people without verifiable ancestral homes or identifiable connections to the affected communities could be recognised as residents of Warri South. Meyiwa said the protest was not intended to create hostility between the Itsekiri and other ethnic groups but to demand fairness and respect for the agreement reached by stakeholders.
Similarly, the Urhobo representative, Eforele Marcus, accused INEC of introducing unfamiliar ward names and altering the existing electoral structure in a manner he said could affect the political representation of the Urhobo people. Marcus argued that the different ethnic groups in Warri South had distinct ancestral settlements and should have their electoral representation properly reflected. He also questioned the creation of additional wards and polling units, alleging that the delineation exercise had altered previous arrangements among the communities. Marcus said the protesters wanted INEC to restore what they considered a fair electoral structure and correct the alleged errors.
Responding, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Delta State, Sir Etekamba Udo Umoren, urged the protesters to submit their grievances in writing for onward transmission to the commission’s national headquarters in Abuja. Umoren said he had observed the different messages on the protesters’ placards but advised them to present a comprehensive position paper detailing their complaints, previous engagements with the commission and the action they expected.
The REC assured the protesters that his office was open to receiving their complaints, adding that the documents would be forwarded to the national headquarters for consideration and necessary action. He, however, acknowledged their right to peaceful protest and urged them to avoid violence.
Also addressing the protesters, the Delta State Commissioner of Police, CP Samuel Etaifo Erale, appealed to them to submit copies of their previous petitions and reports to his office, promising to draw the attention of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to the dispute. Erale, who said he had spent less than two months in the state, noted that he was hearing about the grievances for the first time.
He said he would formally write to the IGP, warning that the dispute had the potential to cause a breakdown of peace in Delta State if not properly addressed.
The Commissioner of Police, who said he had served in that capacity during the last governorship election in Osun State, assured the protesters of his commitment to maintaining peace in Delta.
He appealed to them to cooperate with security agencies, promising to replicate the peaceful atmosphere recorded during the Osun election in the state.
