{"id":5007,"date":"2025-11-13T13:30:56","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T13:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/2025\/11\/13\/group-berates-senator-simon-lalong-senator-sadiq-suleiman-over-misguided-motion-to-halt-warri-federal-constituency-delineation\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T13:30:56","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T13:30:56","slug":"group-berates-senator-simon-lalong-senator-sadiq-suleiman-over-misguided-motion-to-halt-warri-federal-constituency-delineation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/2025\/11\/13\/group-berates-senator-simon-lalong-senator-sadiq-suleiman-over-misguided-motion-to-halt-warri-federal-constituency-delineation\/","title":{"rendered":"Group Berates Senator Simon Lalong, Senator Sadiq Suleiman Over Misguided Motion To Halt Warri Federal Constituency Delineation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Esther David<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

OPEN LETTER TO SENATORS SIMON LALONG AND SADIQ SULEIMAN UMAR<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Your Misguided Motion to Halt the Constitutionally Mandated Delineation of Warri Federal Constituency<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From: Concerned Elders of Warri Federal Constituency<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Date: 12 November 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Distinguished Senators,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We write with civil outrage and constitutional conviction to address your disgraceful attempt, on the floor of the National Assembly, to halt the lawful and already completed delineation of Warri Federal Constituency, a process conducted in strict obedience to a Supreme Court judgment, based on Sections 71\u201376 and Sections 112\u2013116 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your motion, moved by Senator Sadiq Suleiman Umar (APC, Kwara North) and seconded by Senator Simon Bako Lalong (APC, Plateau South), is not only uninformed but a constitutional aberration, a moral disgrace and a direct insult to the judicial sovereignty of Nigeria. It reveals a dangerous pattern, outsiders aiding a desperate ethnic minority (the Itsekiris) in their endless crusade to manipulate population truth and subvert democratic balance in Warri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE FACTS YOU IGNORED<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warri Federal Constituency comprises three Local Government Areas, Warri South, Warri South-West and Warri North. Within these are seven indigenous kingdoms belonging to Ijaw, Urhobo, and Itsekiri peoples. Historical, geographical and demographic records from colonial intelligence reports, annual administrative reviews and post-independence censuses, clearly show that the Ijaws and Urhobos form the demographic majority in landmass, population and settlement spread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From as far back as the Warri Province Intelligence Reports (1927\u20131936), the British Administration recognized that the Ijaw and Urhobo occupied the bulk of the Warri territories, including the creeks, hinterlands and most populated zones. The Itsekiri occupied limited riverine patches but were politically favored by indirect rule due to early missionary influence. This colonial favoritism, not demographic truth, gave birth to the manipulative structures that have since strangled representation in Warri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

INEC\u2019s new delineation process is a rectification of historical injustice, not an invention. It is grounded in population data, territorial mapping and field verification as conducted in 2023\u20132024, following the Supreme Court judgment in Hon. George Timinimi & Ors v. INEC (SC\/CV\/1033\/2022). The Court directed INEC to carry out lawful ward delineation reflecting demographic realities and INEC has done exactly that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE CONSTITUTION SPEAKS CLEARLY<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Section 1(1): \u201cThis Constitution is supreme and its provisions shall have binding force on all authorities and persons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Section 14(2)(a): \u201cSovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government through this Constitution derives all its powers and authority.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Section 42(1): \u201cA citizen of Nigeria shall not be discriminated against on the basis of community, ethnic group or place of origin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Section 287(1): \u201cThe decisions of the Supreme Court shall be enforced in any part of the Federation by all authorities and persons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sections 71\u201376 & 112\u2013116: Mandate INEC to divide the country into constituencies and review them periodically according to population and community representation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you rise on the floor of the Senate to stop a constitutional process already affirmed by the Supreme Court, you are not defending democracy, you are mocking it. You are, in fact, committing legislative contempt against the judicial arm of government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE ITSEKIRI FRAUD AND THE FAILED AGENDA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is no secret that the Itsekiri political elites, having lost the colonial protection that once gave them dominance over the majority, are running from pillar to post to preserve an expired structure built on minority fraud. They have gone to court and lost. They have gone to the NSA and failed. They have sponsored violence, propaganda and petitions, and now they are clutching at the National Assembly, dragging unsuspecting Senators from faraway states into their deceitful web.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let it be made plain:
Delineation is not ethnic politics; it is constitutional representation.
The Supreme Court judgment did not favor Ijaw or Urhobo; it favored justice, population and truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ward structure that kept Ijaw and Urhobo underrepresented was a colonial creation that turned democracy upside down, making the minority rule over the majority. The new delineation restores equality and proportional representation. That is the foundation of democracy and any attempt to reverse it is an attack on the very Constitution of Nigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EDUCATE YOURSELVES ON WARRI\u2019S HISTORY<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before lending your voice to oppression, study the facts.
Warri is not owned by one tribe. It is a multi-ethnic city of ancient indigenous polities. The Ijaw and Urhobo have historical presence documented long before the emergence of the Itsekiri monarchy in the 15th\u201316th centuries. Portuguese explorer Duarte Pacheco Pereira (1485) recorded Ijaw and Urhobo settlements along the Escravos and Warri rivers before the Itsekiri kingdom even existed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the colonial period, administrative records such as CO 554\/120\/5, CSO 26\/08549, and the 1928 Warri Township Assessment Report clearly identified Ijaw and Urhobo villages and leadership structures independent of Itsekiri rule. Even the British recognized that the so-called \u201cOlu of Warri\u201d was only the head of Itsekiri ethnic group, not a ruler over Warri\u2019s other indigenous peoples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, when INEC recognizes population and adds new wards to correct this imbalance, it is not creating new land, it is simply acknowledging the truth buried under decades of manipulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NO SENATE CAN OVERRIDE THE SUPREME COURT<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Distinguished Senators, understand this:
The Senate is not above the Supreme Court.
No motion, no debate, no voice vote can alter or suspend a judgment of the apex court.
Section 287(1) forbids it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your motion to halt INEC\u2019s action is unconstitutional, illegal and void ab initio. INEC acted under the law, not under ethnic pressure. You cannot legislate contempt into legitimacy. You cannot make the Senate a hiding place for ethnic fraud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND NSA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We call on the Federal Government, through the National Security Adviser and the Attorney-General of the Federation, to compel INEC to announce the final delineation result immediately. The continued delay is breeding discontent and suspicion in Warri Federal Constituency. Every day of silence is a day of injustice prolonged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peace is not achieved by silence, it is achieved by justice.
And justice in Warri begins when INEC announces what it has already completed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FINAL WORD<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The age of deceit is over.
The era of minority domination has expired.
No Senator, no motion, no propaganda, no manipulation can stop the hand of truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delineation has come to stay.
The people have spoken.
The courts have ruled.
The Constitution is clear.
Now INEC must obey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Signed,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Signed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chief Tiemopere Joshua
(President)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chief Ebikeke T. Goodstime
(Secretary)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concerned Elders of Warri Federal Constituency (CEWFC)
For and on behalf of peace, truth and justice in the Niger Delta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cc:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Federal Government of Nigeria<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Security Adviser (NSA)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Assembly of Nigeria<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Attorney General of the Federation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Delta State Government<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Delta State House of Assembly<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Esther David OPEN LETTER TO SENATORS SIMON LALONG AND SADIQ SULEIMAN UMAR On Your…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5006,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[13],"tags":[1596,1597],"class_list":["post-5007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-group-berates-senator-simon-lalong","tag-senator-sadiq-suleiman-over-misguided-motion-to-halt-warri-federal-constituency-delineation"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/img_4870.jpg?fit=523%2C256&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5010,"url":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/2025\/11\/13\/open-letter-to-the-senate-of-the-federal-republic-of-nigeria-call-to-reject-the-petition-and-motion-before-the-senate-on-inecs-ward-delineation-in-warri-federal-constituency-and-to-uphold-th\/","url_meta":{"origin":5007,"position":0},"title":"OPEN 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marks\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/img_3413.jpg?fit=201%2C251&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4524,"url":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/2025\/07\/24\/advocacy-group-faults-inecs-proposed-continuous-voter-registration-exercise-without-implementing-warri-federal-constituency-ward-delineation-report\/","url_meta":{"origin":5007,"position":2},"title":"Advocacy Group Faults INEC\u2019s Proposed Continuous Voter Registration Exercise Without Implementing Warri Federal Constituency Ward Delineation Report","author":"Freeborn Abraye","date":"July 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u200eBy Uche Alvin OPEN LETTER TO THE INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC)\u200eRE: ILLEGALITY OF COMMENCING THE 2025 CONTINUOUS VOTER REGISTRATION IN WARRI FEDERAL CONSTITUENCY WITHOUT IMPLEMENTATION OF WARD DELINEATION, AS MANDATED BY THE SUPREME COURT OF NIGERIA.\u200e\u200eThe Chairman,\u200eIndependent National Electoral Commission (INEC),\u200eINEC Headquarters, Abuja, Nigeria.\u200eSir,\u200e\u200eWe write to formally express grave\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/img_0448-1-1.jpg?fit=686%2C386&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/img_0448-1-1.jpg?fit=686%2C386&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/img_0448-1-1.jpg?fit=686%2C386&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 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Crescent, Maitama District\u200eAbuja, FCT, Nigeria\u200eDear Sir,\u200e\u200eWe write to you on behalf of the Warri\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Electoral"","block_context":{"text":"Electoral","link":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/electoral\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4853,"url":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/2025\/09\/28\/just-in-suspension-of-warri-federal-constituency-delineation-is-an-assault-on-democracy___barr-jeffrey-oromoni\/","url_meta":{"origin":5007,"position":4},"title":"JUST IN: \u201cSuspension Of Warri Federal Constituency Delineation Is An Assault On Democracy\u201d___Barr. Jeffrey Oromoni","author":"Freeborn Abraye","date":"September 28, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Uche Alvin I, wish to categorically state that the suspension of the final delineation of electoral wards in Warri Federal Constituency by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) amounts to a direct disenfranchisement of the good people of Warri Federal Constituency from exercising their constitutional rights to vote and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/img_0448-1-1.jpg?fit=686%2C386&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/img_0448-1-1.jpg?fit=686%2C386&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/img_0448-1-1.jpg?fit=686%2C386&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5512,"url":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/2026\/04\/22\/any-primary-election-conducted-without-the-implementation-of-warri-federal-constituency-delineation-report-will-be-considered-null-and-void___abraye\/","url_meta":{"origin":5007,"position":5},"title":"\u201cAny Primary Election Conducted Without The Implementation Of Warri Federal Constituency Delineation Report Will Be Resisted\u201d___Abraye","author":"Freeborn Abraye","date":"April 22, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"By Ebiowei Gabriel The National Coordinator of the Niger Delta Advocates For Peace, Development And Economic Justice (NDAPDEJ), Comrade Freeborn Abraye, has issued a stern warning to political actors, institutions, and vested interests attempting to manipulate the political process in Warri Federal Constituency. According to Abraye, any primary election conducted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/img_0964.jpg?fit=1200%2C902&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/img_0964.jpg?fit=1200%2C902&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/img_0964.jpg?fit=1200%2C902&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/img_0964.jpg?fit=1200%2C902&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/img_0964.jpg?fit=1200%2C902&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfDfBE-1iL","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5007\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coastaltimes.com.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}