By Deborah Coker
The Ijaw National Congress (INC), says the suspension of the Warri Federal Constituency Delineation is an affront to the Supreme Court and a declaration of war against electoral justice.
Prof. Benjamin Okaba, Global President, INC said this at a news Conference in Abuja on Monday.
Okaba said that the INC condemn in the strongest terms, the Federal Government’s directive to suspend the Supreme Court-ordered delineation of wards in the Warri Federal Constituency
According to him, the INC received with utter dismay the recent directive of the Federal Government, through the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), which suspended the Supreme Court-ordered delineation of wards in the Warri Federal Constituency.
‘’For the record, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was not undertaking a voluntary exercise.
‘’It was acting in direct compliance with a landmark judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria delivered on Dec. 2, 2022.
‘’The suspension of this process, under the flimsy pretext of ‘security concerns,’ is nothing short of a subversion of the Rule of Law itself.
‘’It is a dangerous precedent that signals to the nation that court orders can be trifled with when they do not serve the political interests of the powerful.’’
The INC global president said that legal implication of the directive was that it has placed INEC in an impossible position, forcing it to choose between obeying the Federal Government and obedience to the highest court in the land.
‘’By succumbing to this pressure, INEC is effectively in contempt of the court it is constitutionally mandated to respect,’’ he said.
He therefore called on the federal government to order the immediate and unconditional resumption of the ward delineation process by INEC, in strict compliance with the Supreme Court order.
‘The National Assembly should also invoke its constitutional powers to summon the NSA and the INEC Chairman to explain this subversion of a Supreme Court order.
‘’The international community should take note of the Nigerian government’s flagrant disregard for the Rule of Law and its implications for our democracy.
‘’To the Ijaw nation, we urge calm but resolute vigilance. We are on the right side of the law and history.
‘’We shall explore diplomatic means available to ensure that justice is not only served but is seen to be served.’’
Okaba noted that should the federal government fail to withdraw the suspension directive, then it would have succeeded shattering the perceived independence of INEC.
‘’This will show that the commission’s operations can be arbitrarily halted by executive fiat, thereby eroding public confidence in its capacity to conduct free and fair elections,’’ he said.
He added that the suspension was not a solution for peace.
NAN reports that INEC suspended all activities related to the delineation of electoral wards in the Warri Federal Constituency of Delta
INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victoria Eta-Messi, confirmed the development on Saturday, stating that the matter has been escalated to the Office of the NSA.
“This matter was brought to the attention of the NSA. So, at the moment, we cannot take any further action,” she said.
Inspite of the suspension of the delineation process, Eta-Messi said that the Continuous Voter Registration exercise in Warri would continue as planned, relying on the existing polling units and registration areas.
(NAN)