Reps ask INEC to restore 12 constituencies in Kogi

The House of Representatives has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to restore the twelve suppressed State Constituencies in Kogi State.

The Constituencies include: Kabba-Bunu II, Ijumu II, Koton Karfe I, Yagba West I, Adavi II, Iffe/Ogodu, Igala Ogba, Okura, Enjema, Dekina Town, Olamaboro II, and Bassa-Nge/Igbirra Sate.

The Green Chamber mandated its Committee on on Electoral Matters to interface with the INEC Chairman and report within four weeks for further legislative action.

This resolution was sequel a motion sponsored by Salman Idris and eight other lawmakers.

The House expressed concerns that from 1998 to date, the Commission has continued to suppress the Kogi State House of Assembly Constituencies’ seats, noting that the essence of participatory democracy is to ensure inclusive governance aimed at bringing a balanced development through quality representation.

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The House stated that Kogi State, which has nine seats in the House of Representatives, is supposed to have at least 27 or 36 House of Assembly seats as provided for in the Constitution. It said the last review of State Constituencies in Nigeria in 1998 resulted in the suppression of some Constituencies in the Kogi State House of Assembly seats.

The lower chamber worried that Kogi State had remained underrepresented
as a result of this unconstitutional gross suppression of the number of seats in the Kogi State House of Assembly.

Lawmakers argued that the restoration of the suppressed Constituencies in Kogi State would further deepen democracy in terms of quality representation and grassroots development and promote equality.

“Also worried that the Independent National Electoral Commission has continued to act in ultra vires due to the exclusion of the above-mentioned constituencies”, the lawmakers said

The House noted that Section 91 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) provides that “a House of Assembly of a State shall consist of three or four times the number of seats that that State has in the House of Representatives divided in a way to reflect, as far as possible, nearly equal population.