Kogi: Stakeholders petition INEC, demand restoration of suppressed constituencies

By Richard Elesho/Kogi

A group of aggrieved stakeholders in Kogi State led by the Chairman of Kabba-Bunu Local Government Area, Barrister Zacheus Dare, have decried what it described as an age long political suppression of constituencies in the state, demanding urgent redress before the 2027 elections are conducted.

The group made their request known on Thursday when they submitted a petition at the state office of the Independent National Electrical Commission, INEC, for onward escalation to the headquarters of the electoral body.

Barr. Ayokunle Jonathan, who led a team of legal practitioners to the Lokoja office of INEC to submit a letter of protest, urged the electoral umpire to look into the matter in the interest of justice, emphasizing that the constitution mandates every federal constituency to have three or four state constituencies.

He said the Assembly currently has 25 members, short of the required number stipulated in the Constitution. He gave examples of suppressed constituencies to include Ajaokuta, Bassa, Kabba-Bunu, Ijumu, and Yagba land.

Adding his voice, Dare, on behalf of the citizens, said that laws are meant to be fair and just lamenting the suppression of some areas after the creation of the state.

The petitioners urged INEC and Governor Usman Ahmed Ododo to address the issue before the next election, warning that the current composition of the state assembly is defective and lacks a legal quorum

“Laws are drafted in the spirit of equity, justice, and fairness. Section 91 of the constitution stipulates that a federal Constituency should have 3 or 4 state constituencies with members in the State Assembly. In Idah Federal Constituency, they have four local Government. The four LGAs are represented with a member each in the State Assembly.

“In Ankpa, they have three LGAs, they have met the constitutional provision of the State lawmakers. In Dekina Bassa Federal Constituency, they require one more lawmaker to fulfil the provision. In Kogi Central with five LGAs, they have six Assembly Lawmakers with other seats suppressed. In Kogi West, we have 7 LGAs with 8 members with four suppressed seats. In 1991, this suppressed Constituencies had their members. Kabba had one and two. Ijumu had one and two; and Koto had one and two. By the spirit of the Constitution, we demand the restoration of the suppressed seats because the creation of a new constitution would require amending the constitution. We are therefore asking for the restoration of what was in existence.

“The implications of what obtains now in the Kogi State House of Assembly is that the House is wrongly constituted. They are not forming the legal quorum. If the law says three, the members will be 27 and if four, it will be 36. Thus far, the quorum in the assembly is defective in the eyes of law. This means any action of the assembly can be challenged successfully in the court. We are urging INEC to restore the suppressed constituencies.

“We are urging Gov. Usman Ahmed Ododo to listen to the cry of those suppressed voices to enable us to have our representative in the spirit of the law. The law didn’t look at population, it is more concerned about equality, fairness, and Justice”, Barr. Dare said.