By Jimitota Onoyume

Itsekiri nation has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to comply with a Federal High Court judgement on electoral wards in Warri South local government area by reversing to the original ten ward structures in the area.

At a world press conference yesterday at the residence of the Ologbotsere of Warri kingdom and Chairman Warri Council of Chiefs, Chief Robinson Ariyo said the electoral body had allegedly and flagrantly failed to respect the judgement of the Federal High Court in Warri in suit number FHC/B/109/97 which ordered it to reverse to the original 10 ward structures about two decades ago.

Ariyo who was flanked by the Ologbotsere, Eyewuoma Oma, the Iyasere, Chief Johnson Amatserunleghe, and other prominent Chiefs of Warri Kingdom, also recalled that the appeal filed by INEC against the judgement was dismissed on October 23, 2018, stressing that the electoral body had for reasons best known to it chose to ignore the judgement of the court.

” The situation is despite the fact that there has never been at any material time a Stay of Execution of that judgement at all not even an application for stay.

” It is worthy of note that the agitations for the execution of the judgement have been perennial, the people of Itsekiri who are the judgement creditors have been unprecedentedly patient and accommodating but may not be so for any longer”, he warned.

Chief Ariyo, also a prominent lawyer from Warri said it was gerrymandering exercise by a section of INEC in 1996 that resulted in the restructuring of the Warri south state constituency from 10 to 12 wards, adding that the action was a breach of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.

The Ologbotsere Eyewuoma and Chief Brown Mene who also spoke said the electoral body should immediately comply with the federal High judgement by conducting elections only in the ten ward structures for Warri South state constituency.

They said the Itsekiri nation has been grossly shortchanged under the 12 wards arrangement which allegedly violated the constitution.