The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmoud Yakubu, has clarified the commission’s position on the ongoing controversy within the Rivers State House of Assembly.
Yakubu said INEC has refrained from intervening because of conflicting court rulings on the legitimacy of parliament.
The crisis stems from an ongoing power struggle between two factions within the Rivers House of Assembly, one loyal to Governor Siminarayi Hubala and the other to FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike. Be faithful.
Mr. Hubala’s faction recently called on INEC to hold by-elections to fill the 25 parliamentary seats aligned with Mr. Wike that were allegedly declared vacant.
Yakubu said at a stakeholder meeting with media executives in Abuja that the commission’s inaction was due to “several contradictory court decisions” both at the state and federal levels, adding that INEC was not involved. It has become clear that it is becoming difficult to judge the legitimacy of the factions that support the government.
Yakubu said, “The 25 Rivers State House of Assembly seats were declared vacant by three other members.In retaliation, the 25 members declared these three seats vacant.
“Judgments of the Rivers High Court and the Federal High Court have given different views on the legitimacy of these members and INEC has been closely monitoring these developments.”
The INEC chairman further noted that in addition to the Rivers parliamentary issue, the commission is preparing to hold by-elections for seats in the House of Representatives and Houses of Representatives across the country that are vacant due to death or resignation of members. . .
INEC plans to hold these by-elections by mid-December.
Mr Yakub also discussed the logistical challenges posed by frequent by-elections, noting that since July 2023, the commission has managed around 20 by-elections across the country.
To address this, INEC is exploring an alternative approach where political parties directly nominate new representatives to fill vacancies left by deceased or resigned members. Mr. Yakubu noted that this practice is common in other democracies and would save INEC considerable resources.
Regarding the upcoming Ondo State governorship election, Yakubu said the commission is incorporating lessons from past elections to enhance voter identification and speedy uploading of results to the INEC Results Viewing (IReV) portal. Guaranteed.
The INEC Chairperson urged Nigerians, especially legal professionals, to provide input on these potential changes to the electoral process, stating that the Commission’s goals are to ensure consistency, legitimacy and efficiency in addressing electoral issues. He emphasized that it is about ensuring sexuality.
