The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of fueling crisis in Warri Federal Constituency by continuing with the voters’ registration exercise despite a Supreme Court judgment voiding wards and units in the area.
In a statement issued by its spokesman, Binebia Princewill, the council said the apex court, in a December 2, 2022 ruling, declared the current delineation of Warri Federal Constituency “fraudulent, non-existent, and unrepresentative of the population.”
IYC expressed concern over what it described as conflicting reports from INEC on the matter. According to the group, while it was reported that the commission had suspended the delineation exercise and transferred it to the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), INEC also issued another statement denying such suspension.
“As a council, we are consumed by profound concern, and our collective curiosity is piqued, for we wonder if there exists no well-defined hierarchy within INEC that its officials would brazenly issue public statements with reckless abandon, only to retract them moments later,” the statement read.
The group alleged that INEC’s decision to extend continuous voter registration to the constituency amounted to contempt of court and a disregard for the judiciary. It warned that it would resist what it described as the commission’s delay tactics in implementing its draft report on the delineation.
“If INEC led by Mahmood Yakubu cannot fix an issue with a legal backing in just one federal constituency in Nigeria, what then will be the hope of Nigerians putting their trust in a credible election by the same INEC?” IYC queried.
The council further cautioned the federal government against allowing the situation to degenerate into unrest, insisting that obedience to the court ruling remained the only path to restoring confidence in the electoral process.
