By A heated exchange erupted in the Senate on Wednesday over the recent delineation exercise conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Warri Federal Constituency, Delta State.
The disagreement followed a motion seeking a Senate investigation into the exercise, which some lawmakers claimed had sparked ethnic tension.
Senators Joel Onowakpo (Delta South) and Ede Dafinone (Delta Central) opposed the motion, arguing that it amounted to legislative interference in INEC’s constitutional duties and concerned a matter already before the courts.
Onowakpo engaged the motion’s sponsor and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, Senator Simon Lalong, in a verbal confrontation after Lalong mentioned that the motion was “a reference even from the Villa.”
“Oh, so it came from the Villa?” Onowakpo retorted, warning that the Senate must not prejudice a case already pending before the Federal High Court in Warri.
Lalong, however, stood his ground, stating that his reference did not change the fact that the concerns were already public.
The motion, titled “Delineation Exercise Embarked Upon by INEC in Warri Federal Constituency, Delta State: The Need for Urgent Intervention to Prevent Political Crisis,” was based on a petition by the Itsekiri ethnic group, alleging “unjust treatment and marginalisation” during the delineation.
According to the motion, two Ijaw communities—Gbaramatu and Oporoza—were increased from one ward each to eight wards, while the Itsekiri communities were reduced from six to five wards. The motion also alleged that INEC used wrong coordinates, placing some communities outside Delta State’s boundaries.
To douse tension, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin expanded the investigating body from one to five committees, including Judiciary, Special Duties, Public Petitions, and State/Local Governments, with the Judiciary Committee leading the inquiry.
The committees are expected to submit their report within four weeks.
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