2027
OPEN LETTER TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THE INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC)
DATE: 18/3/2026
INEC’S DELAY ON WARRI FEDERAL CONSTITUENCY FINAL DELINEATION RESULT, A DELIBERATE INVITATION TO CRISIS
There comes a point in the life of a people when silence stops being patience and begins to look like surrender. We have reached that point.
The matter before the nation is simple, yet dangerously mishandled. The Supreme Court of Nigeria, in George Timinimi & Ors v. INEC (SC/CV/1033/2022), gave a clear and binding directive. INEC complied halfway, it conducted the delineation exercise. But at the very moment where truth ought to have been unveiled, it paused, withheld and retreated into a silence that now raises more questions than answers.
This is no longer delay in the ordinary sense. Delay suggests movement interrupted. What we are confronted with is something more troubling, a deliberate refusal to complete a lawful process. An institution created to protect democracy now stands at the edge of undermining it.
What makes this more disturbing is not just the silence but what that silence protects. Because behind it lies a familiar pattern, the bending of truth to suit power, the shrinking of a multi-ethnic reality into a convenient narrative and the quiet elevation of one claim above all others, not by evidence but by influence.
Warri, as history has always presented it, is not a single voice. It has never been. It is a convergence of peoples, of cultures, of histories that do not cancel one another but coexist. To attempt to compress that complexity into the authority of one throne is not only historically inaccurate, it is intellectually dishonest.
Even the law, which is expected to be neutral and dispassionate, recognizes this plurality. The Delta State Traditional Rulers Law does not construct a hierarchy of submission, it acknowledges a balance of authorities. Yet, in practice, what is being projected is something entirely different, a narrative where equality is quietly replaced with dominance and coexistence is rebranded as control.
One is then forced to ask, when did history become so negotiable?
We are reminded of 1952, when a colonial administrative decision altered a title and in doing so, attempted to stretch influence beyond its natural limits. That decision, made for convenience, not truth, has somehow survived into modern discourse as though it were an unquestionable foundation. But colonial adjustments cannot become eternal facts. If they could, then history itself would have no meaning beyond paperwork.
The danger lies not just in the distortion but in its persistence.
Because when falsehood is repeated long enough, it begins to wear the appearance of truth. And when institutions begin to act as though that appearance is sufficient, then justice is no longer guided by fact but by accommodation.
At the same time, there is an uncomfortable pattern that cannot be ignored. Warri has, over the years, been steadily weakened, not by accident but through a series of decisions and circumstances that all point in one direction. Economic relevance has been eroded. Institutions have shifted away. Opportunities have followed the same path.
Crisis, it seems, has become a silent instrument of relocation.
And now, the refusal to release a completed delineation result fits too neatly into that pattern to be dismissed as coincidence. It sustains uncertainty. It prolongs tension. It keeps representation in suspension. And in doing so, it preserves a structure where ambiguity becomes power.
But history, unlike institutions, does not forget.
Records from the colonial era, untouched by today’s political anxieties, speak plainly of Warri as a shared space, inhabited by Ijaw, Urhobo and Itsekiri. Judicial pronouncements, from the Privy Council to the Supreme Court, have repeatedly dismantled claims of overarching authority by one group over the others. These are not interpretations. They are conclusions reached after scrutiny, evidence and law.
Even earlier accounts, far removed from contemporary disputes, place the Ijaw people in the region long before the political structures now being elevated came into existence. These are not emotional claims. They are historical observations.
So the question becomes unavoidable, what exactly is being protected by this silence?
Because it cannot be the law, the law has already spoken.
It cannot be history, history has already recorded itself.
It cannot be justice, justice demands conclusion, not concealment.
What remains is something far less defensible.
The Constitution of Nigeria does not permit governance by hesitation. It does not endorse selective obedience. It does not recognize a democracy where participation is delayed until it becomes irrelevant. Sovereignty resides in the people, not in withheld documents. Representation is a right, not a privilege to be granted at convenience.
Time, in law, is not elastic. There is such a thing as reasonable time. And that time has passed.
What is left now is not a process in progress but a process in question.
It must be clearly understood that no democratic exercise can stand on an incomplete foundation. Electoral activities built on undefined or undisclosed structures are not merely flawed, they are illegitimate in principle. Legitimacy does not come from procedure alone, it comes from compliance with law and fairness.
And where those are absent, stability becomes fragile.
This is not an attempt to inflame. It is an attempt to prevent what history has shown us repeatedly, that unresolved injustice does not disappear. It accumulates. It deepens. And eventually, it expresses itself in ways that no institution can easily control.
Patience, often praised as a virtue, has limits. Beyond those limits, it begins to lose meaning.
We therefore speak, not in anger alone but in clarity.
The delineation has been done. It must be released.
The judgment has been given. It must be obeyed.
The people have waited. They must not be ignored.
Anything short of this is not neutrality. It is complicity.
Warri does not belong to a single narrative. It does not answer to a single authority. It cannot be reduced to a convenient version of itself.
It remains what it has always been, a meeting point of peoples whose rights are equal, whose histories are valid, and whose voices cannot be selectively amplified or silenced.
The responsibility now lies with those entrusted with authority.
To act.
To conclude.
To restore confidence before it erodes completely.
Because in the end, institutions are remembered not for what they began but for what they failed to finish.
Signed:
Chief Tiemopere Joshua ~ President
Chief Ebikeme T. Goodstime ~ Secretary
Stakeholders of Warri Federal Constituency for Truth and Justice
Cc:
The President of the Senate, National Assembly
The Speaker, House of Representatives
The National Security Adviser NSA
The Chief Justice of Nigeria
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice
Media Houses
International Observers
By Divine Perezide
Abuja, Nigeria – In a major legislative development this week, the Nigerian National Assembly passed a reworked version of the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Amendment Bill 2026, moving the long-debated electoral reform bill closer to becoming law ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The passage came after days of intense debate among senators and members of the House of Representatives on several contentious provisions — most notably those governing the transmission of election results and the timetable for conducting polls.
During proceedings in the Senate, lawmakers rescinded an earlier version of the bill and went into detailed clause-by-clause consideration to harmonise differences with the House of Representatives. One notable amendment reduced the required notice period for elections from 360 days to 300 days to give the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) greater flexibility in setting dates without clashing with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The Senate also retained a controversial clause that addresses how election results are transmitted. While the bill endorses electronic transmission to INEC’s results viewing portal (IReV), it allows for the use of manual documentation (Form EC8A) as a fallback if technology fails. Supporters of the provision argue it reflects practical realities, while critics say it could weaken reforms aimed at boosting transparency.
The House of Representatives initially experienced a rowdy and fractious session on Tuesday, as some opposition lawmakers protested aspects of the bill and even walked out of the chamber. Despite the tension, the lower house ultimately agreed to the Senate’s version after further negotiation.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the amended Electoral Act into law on Wednesday at the State House in Abuja, officially bringing the legislation into force ahead of the February-March 2027 election cycle. The signing was attended by principal officers of the National Assembly.
Backers of the amendment assert that the new Electoral Act will strengthen Nigeria’s democratic process by clarifying timelines, improving transparency mechanisms, and addressing long-standing legal ambiguities. Civil society groups, however, have called for vigilant implementation and monitoring to ensure that reforms translate into credible, transparent elections.
– As Minister Lokpobiri Receives Thousands of Alabini Political Frontiers
– Promises More Support for Bayelsa Development
By: Derick Peretengboro
Yenagoa — In a significant political shift yesterday, the Alabini community in the Alabini Progressive Front(APF) in their hundreds of numbers in Ekeremor Constituency 3 Bayelsa state, under the leadership of Hon. Chief Berry Negerese, officially defected from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party(LP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on November 13, 2025. The event took place in Tamara Hall Otiotio, Yenagoa, and highlighted the People’s commitment to aligning with the state’s vision of “Renewed Prosperity.”
This was contained in a statement released by Yenne Lucky Dennis, Director General, Media/Publicity to the Wind of Progress Forum, efficiently led by Negerese.
Hon. Chief Berry Negerese, in his address, expressed profound gratitude to the Governor of Bayelsa State Sen Douye Diri for his recent infrastructural developments, particularly the gas turbine initiative and the three pivotal senatorial roads. The road connecting Brass in the East and Agge in the West was emphasized as a catalyst for economic empowerment among Bayelsans. “We, as a people, will continue to support Mr. President, the Governor, and the Minister for Petroleum State (oil) Sen Heineken Lokpobiri for their commendable efforts,” he stated, underlining the People’s optimism for the future.
Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for Petroleum, (Oil） welcomed the defectors, acknowledging their contributions and reaffirming his commitment as a “bonafide son of the Alabini.” He praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for entrusting him with the ministerial role, vowing to continue supporting the Governor and Alabini people in their development journey.
The gathering was attended by notable figures, including: Hon. Israel Sunny-Igoli, former House of Representative member from Brass, Hon. Isaac Onniye, Executive Chairman of Ekeremor LGA,Dr. Sybriks Obriki,Hon. Peter Peroutubo, Hon. John Alla Commissioner for Tourism Development Bayelsa state,Hon. Thompson Amule, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, along with his wife, High Chief Ben Eyorokumoh Director of Collection, Bayelsa Board of Internal Revenue, Hon. Dein Benadoumene, Chairman Assembly Service Commission, Bayelsa State, High Christopher Tuduo (Boulowenewei) of Ezetu Pethington Kingdom, the Twelve (12) councilors of Ekeremor Legislative Assembly, Royal fathers, High Chief Job Ayiba DDG/ Chairman organizing Committee for Defectors, Hon. Victor Ebiyekon Secretary defectors committee, Hon. Chief Austine Lugbeinwei, High Chief Emmanuel Shopboy, CDC chairmen, Capt Joshua Oropere Chairman PiA Trust in EA host Community Development Truts, Traditional Rulers, CDC chairmen, Women Leaders, Youth leaders, Students leaders and other critical stakeholders.
The event marked a pivotal moment in Bayelsa’s political landscape, with echoes of “Yes to Renewed Prosperity!” resonating among community members. With hopes for further infrastructural growth and economic stability, the Alabini people are poised to embark on this new political chapter with optimism and determination.
By: Derick Peretengboro
Abuja, September 30, 2025 – The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has distanced itself from a statement credited to its former National Chairman and ex-Minister of Information, Professor Jerry Gana, who recently claimed that former President Goodluck Jonathan would emerge as the party’s Presidential candidate in the 2027 general elections.
The party’s National Working Committee (NWC) clarion Monday that Gana had no mandate to speak on behalf of the PDP regarding its choice of candidate.
National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, speaking to journalists in Abuja, stressed that the PDP has many capable leader, particularly among its governors, who are more than qualified to contest the presidency when the time comes.
He said:
“Professor Jerry Gana doesn’t speak for the PDP. I don’t also speak for Professor Jerry Gana. People can express their opinion. But I will emphasise this. In this party, as we are on Tueday, President Jonathan is a member, he has not said he’s not a member.
“But I can tell you, today that this party has eminently qualified Nigerians, particularly at the governors level, who have done exceedingly well, that Nigeria can tap on that and say, step up the place and do the right thing, because their performances in their states show their capacity, which is the DNA of the PDP.
“So, I don’t speak for President Jonathan. I don’t speak for Professor Jerry, with all due respect. But our party is focused on our convention and when we get to that bridge, we’ll cross it. Those should be semantics.”
Gana had earlier, while addressing party members during the weekend in Mina after the Niger State PDP Congress, insisted that Jonathan would contest the 2027 elections on the PDP platform. He compared life under Jonathan with the years that followed, now desired his return.
According to him:
“In 2015, former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan said his ambition is not worth the blood of Nigerians. After another president ruled for eight years now another has ruled for two years.
“Nigerians have seen the difference and the difference is clear. “Nigerians are now asking us to bring back our friend, former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
“I can confirm that Goodluck Ebele Jonathan will contest the presidential election in 2027 as PDP candidate and you will vote for him to return as President again.”
Meanwhile, the Presidency reacted sharply to the development, saying Jonathan had the right to run but warning that his record in office remained a burden.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement on Monday, titled “Former President Jonathan is welcome to the race. Nigerians will remember his dismal record in office,” said:
“President Jonathan reserves the right to run if he wishes. It is his inalienable right to contest the presidency again.
“But Jonathan will have his date in the court of the land…and will also have his encounter with the people as to whether he has anything new to offer after his disastrous six years, for which they voted him out in 2015.”
Onanuga further described the PDP’s move as “absurd,” arguing that Jonathan’s potential candidacy on the platform of a party that “bequeathed a legacy of economic ruins after 16 years of bad governance” would not sit well with Nigerians.