Warri Ijaw, Urhobo Groups Accuse Tinubu of Undermining Supreme Court Ruling on Electoral Wards
* Say Presidential directive to INEC is attack on rule of law
* Indigenous groups demand non-interference in fresh delineation
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By Charles Adams
Indigenous Ijaw and Urhobo communities of Warri Federal Constituency have written an open letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, accusing the Presidency of ordering INEC to halt implementation of a Supreme Court-mandated fresh delineation of electoral wards and polling units in Warri South, Warri South West and Warri North LGAs.
The letter, dated June 5, 2026 and signed on behalf of the Indigenous Ijaw and Urhobo People of Warri Federal Constituency, said the alleged directive amounts to a “direct attack and desecration of the 1999 Constitution” and violates the President’s oath of office.
*Background: 11-year legal battle, SC/413/2016*
The groups recalled that on Dec 2, 2022, the Supreme Court delivered final judgment in SC/413/2016: Hon. George U. Timinimi & 9 Ors v. INEC, ordering INEC “to conduct a fresh delineation of all electoral wards/polling units for Warri South West, Warri North and Warri South Local Government Areas of Warri Federal Constituency for the purpose of future elections.”
INEC, the letter stated, met stakeholders on Feb 2, 2023 in Asaba and pledged compliance under Section 287 of the 1999 Constitution. Fieldwork was done July 10-19, 2024. A draft report was presented to stakeholders on April 4, 2025 for input, and the final report was released in Asaba on May 20, 2026.
According to the letter, INEC’s final report created two additional state constituencies in Warri North and Warri South West, and recommended a new “Warri Federal Constituency II” covering Warri North and Warri South West, subject to constitutional requirements. National Commissioner Alhaji Abdulrazaq Tukur Yusuf reportedly promised political parties would be directed to conduct primaries for the new state constituencies ahead of 2027.
*Allegation of presidential interference*
The jubilations, the groups said, were cut short by information that “the Presidency has ordered INEC to stop further implementation of its final report… because of issues raised by the Itsekiri ethnic nationality.” The letter claimed the decision arose from President Tinubu’s “matrimonial ties to the Itsekiri ethnic nationality.”
Citing the President’s March 12, 2026 remark to the Inter-Party Advisory Council that “Democracy is about the rule of law and that the rule of law must prevail in any democracy,” the groups said his directive to INEC contradicts that position.
They argued the directive undermines Section 287(1) of the Constitution, which mandates enforcement of Supreme Court decisions “by all authorities and persons,” and Section 160(1), which says INEC’s power to regulate its procedure “shall not be subject to the approval or control of the President.”
“Your interference in the affairs of INEC in order for the report… to be favourable to the Itsekiri ethnic nationality and at the expense of the Ijaws and Urhobos of Warri because of your matrimonial relationship with Itsekiri is a violation of your oath of office,” the letter stated.
According to them; Mr. President, we state without hesitation that, your directive to INEC to stop further implementation of the Supreme Court ordered delineation of the Warri Federal Constituency of Delta State is a direct attack and desecration of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) which you swore to defend and uphold. On the 29th day of May, 2023, when you took your oath of office as President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, you among other things made a vow before God and the Nigerian people.
We the Indigenous Ijaw and Urhobo people of Warri make bold to state that, your actions in relation to the implementation of the Supreme Court ordered delineation of the Warri Federal constituency is a complete violation of your oath of office and Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
We state that your directive to INEC undermines the sanctity of national institutions such as the Supreme Court of Nigeria and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). This is dangerous to the survival of our democracy and the rule of law. The rule of law in a democratic system of government requires that the finality of the decisions of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and the independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission should be respected by all persons and organs of government in the overall interest of Nigeria’s democracy, including your office as President and Commander-in-Chief. It is a requirement of the 1999 Constitution, as amended that, the judgment of the Supreme Court is final and must be obeyed and enforced by all persons and authorities in Nigeria.
To do otherwise, as you did with your directive to INEC amounts to violent attack on the rule of law which is the bedrock upon which our constitutional democracy stands as you rightly stated in your meeting with the Inter-Party Advisory Committee on the 12th of March, 2026.
The Presidency should stay clear from interfering in INEC’s statutory responsibility to implement the fresh delineation of electoral wards and polling units in the Warri Federal Constituency of Delta State as ordered by the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the conduct of the 2027 elections.
*Demands*
The Ijaw and Urhobo signatories made two prayers:
1. That the constitutional independence of INEC be respected by all organs of the Federal Government in the interest of rule of law and democracy.
2. That the Presidency “stay clear from interfering in INEC’s statutory responsibility to implement the fresh delineation… as ordered by the Supreme Court… in the conduct of the 2027 elections.”
The delineation dispute in Warri Federal Constituency has been contentious for decades among the Ijaw, Itsekiri and Urhobo. The Supreme Court’s 2022 judgment was seen by Ijaw communities as correcting “decades of political oppression and suppression.” Implementation of INEC’s May 20, 2026 report is now central to preparations for the 2027 general elections.
The Presidency and INEC had not issued official responses to the allegations at press time.
(DEMOCRACY NEWSLINE NEWSPAPER, JUNE 8TH 2026)
