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Some politicians have expressed mixed reactions over the by-elections scheduled for June 20 by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to fill the vacant seats in the National Assembly, barely six months before the 2027 general elections.
The reactions come in the wake of the announcement by the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, that the commission would conduct the by-elections to fill vacant senatorial seats in Enugu, Nasarawa, Rivers and Ondo states, a House of Representatives seat in Kano and a House of Assembly seat in Kebbi State.
The vacancies followed the deaths of three senators and the appointment of Senator Jimoh Ibrahim as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
Former Minister of Information, Labaran Maku and Labour Party (LP) chieftain, said by-elections were necessary to ensure that citizens, whose representatives have left office for one reason or the other, were not denied representation in the legislature.
According to the former deputy governor of Nasarawa State, important national and community issues are constantly being deliberated upon in legislative chambers, thus making it necessary for every constituency to have representation at all times.
“So should those people be without representation for a year because of cost?” he queried.
Maku stressed that democracy thrives when people continue to have a voice through their elected representatives, adding that leaving constituencies vacant for a long period would amount to denying citizens their democratic rights.
Maku urged stakeholders and citizens to support the electoral process and ensure peaceful participation during the conduct of the by-elections.
The National Publicity Secretary of Young Progressives Party (YPP), Mr. Wale Martins, described the conduct of elaborate by-elections close to the 2027 general elections as a “monumental waste” of resources.
He called for a constitutional amendment to allow political parties fill vacancies internally when the remaining tenure is short.
“I think it’s time for the whole electoral process to be rigid so that there would be a way where the country will be spending less.
“The position that remains only six months to be occupied, the political party should be responsible for producing the individual.
“If that is the case, I think there’s nothing wrong in the political party conducting a kind of internal primary, either through consensus or direct primary, according to what is in the Electoral Act, to be able to fill the position.
“That is the only way I feel this political debacle that we find ourselves in on account of either death, appointment or resignation, a few months into general elections,” he said.
According to him, this will ensure that the position is not left empty while it will also not constitute a financial burden on the government.
“I think there’s a need for us to assess our electoral laws to be able to address this issue of conducting an elaborate election to fill a position that has been left vacant.”
Martins queried the wisdom in spending huge resources on by-elections for representatives whose impact might be negligible to the electorate.
“In my own opinion, I think it is not a wise decision, especially coming from the fact that those who have been representing us, what have they actually done for the Nigerian people that we will continue to waste such huge resources in electing people not benefiting the electorate,” he said.
However, former National Chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Mr Yunusa Tanko, blamed INEC for the clumsy timing, arguing that the commission should have acted immediately when the seats were declared vacant.
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“INEC should have conducted these by-elections almost immediately when the seats were declared vacant. But unfortunately, it didn’t.
“So, that makes it very clumsy on the part of INEC. If they conduct the elections now, the people will just be there for a few months before the forthcoming general elections,” he said.
While acknowledging the short duration the new occupants of the seats would serve, Tanko rejected the idea of parties simply nominating replacements, stating that it would disenfranchise other political parties.
“Democracy is not a cheap product; government must prepare for it. I am of the view that INEC should always be prepared. At least 10 to 15 per cent of their budget should be on-ground for by-elections to be done immediately a seat is declared vacant,” Tanko said.
In his own view, the National Secretary of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Mr Dipo Olayoku, acknowledged INEC’s frequent complaints about the cost of conducting by-elections. He, however, said the commission was legally bound to carry out the exercise.
Olayoku noted that the current National Assembly’s tenure would expire in June 2027, meaning that if elections were not held now, some constituencies would be without representation for over a year.
He quoted the Constitution as saying that within 90 days of a seat being declared vacant, INEC must organise a by-election.
“Don’t forget that the tenure of this current National Assembly will expire in June. We need to take cognisance of that. If INEC refuses to hold the by-elections now, because the Constitution the moment a seat is declared vacant, INEC must organise a by-election within 90 days.
“On the basis of that, INEC cannot deny the people of that constituency their representation for more than one year, because the tenure of the current national assembly ends June 2027 and we are just in May.
“That means if INEC does not hold the by-elections, the people of those constituencies will be denied representation for more than one year. That is against the tenets of representative democracy.” Olayoku said the fault was not that of INEC but the executive arm of government, questioning why the president should appoint sitting lawmakers to diplomatic or ministerial positions, thereby triggering the ‘costly’ by-elections.
“We should clamour for an end to these unnecessary appointments from the legislature. If someone has been elected to represent his/her people, why must he/she be moved to an appointment, creating a financial burden on the state?” he queried.
Olayoku also rejected the proposal for automatic party replacements, warning that it could lead to “perpetual hegemony” even when the people were dissatisfied with the ruling party’s performance.
A political analyst, Friday Taiwo, said conduct of by-elections was the constitutional responsibility of INEC after a seat might have been declared vacant.
According to him, the constitution provision in case of any vacancy is that by-elections must be conducted, stressing that this must be strictly adhered to until the constitution is amended.
He stated that Nigerians had the right to decide what they wanted, but it must be in line with the provisions of the constitution.
“This is part of the constitution review that one would expect so as to reduce the cost of conducting our elections.
“In the United States, that is what is in practice. When a vacancy occurs, the governor of that state will have to make a replacement for the remainder of that tenure. Our constitution did not accept that, but there can be amendments in the future if that is what we want.”
Taiwo, who said this might appear good, however, expressed concerns that it could be abused in Nigeria, especially by the executive arm of government.
