A legal practitioner and Egogo of Warri Kingdom, Chief Robinson Ariyo has argued that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) does not have the constitutional powers to delineate and re-delineate electoral wards, describing the exercise as total ‘fraud’.
He also called for a proper investigation into the accounts of the top officials of INEC over alleged inducement in the delineation exercise.
Ariyo told journalists in Abuja that a court affidavit in public space and deposed to by a principal officer of INEC, Onyema Chika before a Federal High Court in Benin clearly ended the debate on constitutional role of INEC as far as constituency delineation is concerned.
According to paragraph 12 and 13, Onyema Chika was quoted to have deposed under oath thus: “That I know as a fact that the 1st defendant does not conduct election using electoral wards. It is the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) that conducts electoral wards structure who now has the responsibility to create and re-delineate Electoral wards.
“That I know as a fact that as at the time the judgement of this Honorable Court was delivered on the 13th day of August 2003, the power to delineate and re-delineate electoral wards had been taken away from the 1st defendant by virtue of 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and domiciled with the State Independent Electoral Commission.”
Ariyo said, “In what amounts to a confession, Mr. Onyema Chika, a Principal Executive Officer of INEC had in an affidavit deposed before the Commissioner for Oaths, Federal High Court in Benin that INEC does not have the power to delineate and re-delineate Electoral Wards by virtue of 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).”
Ariyo submitted that the entire activity remains a fraud and called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to institute a panel of enquiry into the activities of INEC leading to the proposed delineation of wards in Warri Federal Constituency on the 4th day of April, 2025.