The Federated Niger Delta Ijaw Communities (FNDIC), has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) to obey supreme court judgement.
The President of FNDIC who is also the Ebiyedouwei of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Chief Bello Oboko, signed a statement stating that May 15 every year has been sacrosanct for celebrating Gbaramatu Freedom Day to condemn the scourge of slavery across the globe and request authorities in Nigeria to uphold and promote acts of freedom.
Oboko lamented on the refusal of INEC to obey a unanimous judgement of the Supreme court directing it to conduct a fresh and constitution-compliant delineation of electoral wards in Warri South, Warri South-West and Warri North LGAs in Delta State before the 2023 elections.
“In affront to the UNANIMOUS Supreme Court judgement, INEC went ahead to conduct the 2023 elections in Warri territory without effecting the required delineation of electoral wards.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Supreme Court, ordered inter alia: “An ORDER of the Honorable Supreme Court of Nigeria (Abuja) compelling the Defendant (INEC), its agents, servants, to conduct a fresh delineation of all the electoral wards/polling units for Warri South West, Warri North and Warri South Local Government Areas of Warri Federal Constituency in Delta State for the purpose of future election”.
“We are gathered here today to share our belief in the immortal words of Martin Luther Jnr who stated: “Right, temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant”. We therefore call on men, women and organizations of goodwill around the world to prevail on INEC to obey the Supreme Court verdict to enable the good Ijaw and other people in Warri territory to be properly part of the Nigerian democracy.
“Evil has become triumphant for too long over the good Ijaw and other people in Warri territory. Without reference to the distant past, suffice to say that since 1998/1999 which heralded our present democratic experience, the Ijaw people have been denied constitution-compliant participation in the Nigerian democracy.
“Our peaceful agitations since then have been sadly visited with assaults on our dignity, freedom and lives despite INEC’s admission of guilt and promises to do the right thing which the apex Court has now ordered.
“In May 2009, rampaging Nigeria’s military JTF destroyed about 32 Ijaw communities in Gbaramatu Kingdom and killed humans to suppress the people’s agitation for the proper thing to enable their participation in the Nigerian democracy.
“We protested the “triumphant evil” destructions and killings in a Federal High Court in Asaba which found the Nigerian military and hence the Federal Government guilty and awarded against them a cost of N99 billion. The Federal Government is yet to pay the judgement debt of N99billion to the Gbaramatu people to enable them rebuild themselves.
“It is against this background that we leverage on this occasion of the Gbaramatu Freedom Day to call on the world to appeal to INEC for a change of heart.
“Certainly, INEC should not gleefully be the cause of 2009 War in Warri creeks and cause another avoidable crises in the Warri territory upon a hanging judgment debt of N99billion.”
The statement further pointed the “anomalies” committed by INEC which has caused crisis in Warri to include: the electoral body adopting and refusing to delineate ward/constituency in Warri South-West LGA, since 1998/1999, the electoral umpire de-creating existing 1997 NECON wards in Ijaw areas of Warri South-West LGA from 10 to 6 and later 4 and the refusal of INEC to apply the 1991 census for generating population for ward/unit delineation in Warri South-West LGA among others.
The statement called on INEC to do the needful as it regretted the electoral body has done lots of damage to the country and it called on the good people of Delta and Nigerians in general to be law abiding and allow the inauguration of President-Elect, Bola Tinubu and the PDP governor-elect of Delta State as their searing in may allow them clear the mess created by INEC.
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