Human rights activist and political affairs analyst, Barr. Gideon Okey Agbo has dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), for not conducting a by-election to fill the vacancy for Enugu North Senatorial District at the Senate following the death of late Sen. Okey Ezea.
Agbo, who addressed a world press conference in Enugu weekend, to intimate the media about his action, said that the Constitution guaranteed that once a vacancy exists, within a specific period, INEC should organise a by-election for the people to have effective representation.
He specifically cited Section 76(2) of the Constitution, which states that once a vacancy exists, INEC should conduct a by-election without delay. He said: “My legal team has filed a suit against INEC, as part of my own sacrifice towards our political, social, and economic development, and emancipation of our people.
“We address this world press today to respectfully call on the Independent National Electoral Commission to urgently discharge its constitutional duty by fixing and conducting the Senatorial by-election to fill the existing vacancy in the affected Senatorial district, which is Enugu North, in Enugu State.
“The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, particularly section 76, imposes a clear constitutional obligation on INEC to conduct an election whenever a vacancy occurs in any house of the National Assembly, in this case, the Senate.
“The language of the constitution is mandatory and sacred and leaves no room for avoidable delay, where the constituency has become deprived of representation in the National Assembly. The present vacancy has become a matter of public knowledge and constitutional reality.
“Once a vacancy occurs, whether it’s by death, resignation, or any other constitutionally recognized circumstance, the duty to restore representation becomes immediate in order to preserve democratic participation and legislative inclusion of the affected, in this case, in the Enugu North Senatorial zone.
“The continued absence of representation for the people of the Enugu North Senatorial district undermines democratic governance, weakens legislative participation, and deprives citizens of their constitutional voice in national decision-making. That is not debatable. Representation in the Senate is not a privilege; it is a constitutional right belonging to our people.
“Our people here are from the Enugu North Senatorial district, and therefore, we respectfully submit that no administrative delay, procedural stagnation, or institutional silence will be allowed to frustrate the constitutional mandate already imposed upon INEC.
“The constitutional duty to conduct the by-election arises once a vacancy exists, and not only when administrative correspondence is exchanged between institutions, in this case, a letter from the Senate speaker to INEC.
“The Supreme Court of Nigeria, in Honorable Ifedayo, Sunday Abegunde, and Ondo State House of Assembly, made it clear that constitutional vacancy takes effect automatically once the enabling constitutional fact occurs. Consequently, electoral replacement should follow within a constitutionally reasonable time.
“I am calling on INEC, in the interest of constitutionalism, democratic justice, and public confidence, to immediately publish the timetable for the Senatorial by-election and commence the necessary electoral processes without further delay, in Enugu State.
“We equally call on political stakeholders, the academia, veterans of the armed forces, the police force and other security agencies, civil society groups, traditional institutions, youth bodies, and democratic actors within this Senatorial district to support this lawful and peaceful constitutional compliance. The people deserve representation. The constitution demands action.”
