“INEC’s Deliberate Delay Is A Contempt Of The Supreme Court Of Nigeria” Says Warri Elders Group, Urges INEC To Immediately Announce Final Delineation Result -

By Uche Alvin

OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER (NSA) AND THE NIGERIAN REPUBLIC

FROM: CONCERNED ELDERS OF WARRI FEDERAL CONSTITUENCY

Subject: INEC’s Deliberate Delay is a Contempt of the Supreme Court, Announce the Final Delineation Result Now

DATE: 6/11/2025

Your Excellency,

We write with a heavy sense of betrayal, constitutional urgency and unrestrained indignation. The continuous, calculated delay by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in announcing the Final Ward Delineation Result for Warri Federal Constituency, after fieldwork has been completed and after the Supreme Court of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has spoken, is not merely a bureaucratic hesitation, it is a direct assault on the Constitution, an insult to judicial authority and a deliberate provocation against the indigenous peoples of this region.

Let it be recorded clearly and let no one attempt to twist these facts: the Supreme Court is the highest Court of the land, and Section 287(1) of the Constitution commands that all persons, institutions, and authorities, including INEC are bound to obey its judgments without negotiation, delay or reinterpretation. INEC’s refusal or failure to announce the final delineation result constitutes contempt of the Supreme Court, a violation of the rule of law and a breach of administrative integrity.

We remind the Nigerian State of the foundational truth that the Constitution is not a suggestion. Section 1(1) affirms its supremacy and states that any action or inaction inconsistent with it is null and void. Sections 71–76 and Sections 112–116 mandate the periodic delineation of constituencies to ensure proportional representation based on population and demographic distribution. The Supreme Court reaffirmed this obligation. INEC completed the fieldwork. Yet the result is being hidden, suppressed, stalled or captured.

This delay is not neutral.
It is not accidental.
It is not administrative difficulty.
It is a political conspiracy, a population suppression tactic and an attempt to deny rightful representation to the majority peoples of Warri, particularly the Ijaw and Urhobo, who have been historically marginalized and deliberately underrepresented.

The truth is simple: we are the demographic majority in Warri Federal Constituency by every measure of census records, settlement patterns, geographic spread, electoral data, polling unit distributions and land occupancy. Yet, we have for decades been politically choked and under-represented in ward structuring because of an unjust ward arrangement designed to favor numerical minority control. That injustice was corrected by the Supreme Court. INEC was compelled to conduct field verification. INEC carried out the ground work. The report exists. The result is known. INEC knows the truth.

So why delay?
Why pretend ignorance?
Why hold the destiny of entire nations hostage behind silence?

Let it be clearly understood: No Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) will take place in Warri Federal Constituency under illegal and already struck-out ward structures. The people will not validate injustice with participation. We will not be counted under false political geography. We refuse to be documented inside a system built on demographic fraud.

You cannot ask citizens to obey laws while the State itself tramples the highest law and disregards the highest Court.
You cannot call for peace while planting injustice.
You cannot demand calm while fueling resentment through institutional deceit.

We speak today as Concerned Elders of Warri Federal Constituency, custodians of the land, fathers and mothers of memory, witnesses to history and protectors of the dignity of our people. We have endured marginalization, insults, suppression and manufactured narratives. We have been patient beyond measure. But patience has an expiry date. That date is now.

We call upon the National Security Adviser, as the officer constitutionally responsible for preventing conflict escalation to intervene immediately and advise the Federal Government to compel INEC to announce the final delineation result without further delay. This is no longer a political matter. This is a constitutional security matter because no region will accept oppression packaged as procedure.

We are not asking for favors.
We are demanding lawful compliance with the Constitution of Nigeria.

We are not threatening unrest.
We are announcing the limits of endurance.

We are not begging for representation.
We are declaring the return of rightful balance.

The Nigerian State must choose:
Peace built on justice or instability fueled by institutional deceit.

There will be NO CVR in Warri Federal Constituency until the final delineation result is announced.
There will be NO election held on illegal wards.
There will be NO silence in the face of constitutional insult.

The law is clear.
The facts are clear.
The Supreme Court has spoken.
Now INEC must speak.

Signed:

Chief Tiemopere Joshua
(President)

Chief Ebikeke T. Goodstime
(Secretary)

Concerned Elders of Warri Federal Constituency (CEWFC)
For and on behalf of peace, truth and justice in the Niger Delta.

Cc:

The National Assembly of Nigeria

The Attorney General of the Federation

The Delta State House of Assembly