Africa-Press – Nigeria. The Kogi State House of Assembly has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to restore 12 state constituencies that were removed more than two decades ago to ensure fair representation for citizens.
The call followed a motion raised on the floor of the House by Hon. Seyi Bello, member representing Kabba/Bunu Constituency. He explained that the 1999 Constitution gives INEC the power to carry out constituency delimitation and to make sure population distribution across constituencies is fair.
According to him, Section 91 of the constitution clearly states that each state must have between three and four times its number of federal constituencies represented in the state assembly. With Kogi having nine federal constituencies, the state should have between 27 and 36 assembly seats.
“Kogi State currently has only 25 constituencies, which falls below the constitutional minimum,” he said.
Hon. Bello recalled that when Kogi State was created in 1991, the First Assembly operated with 32 constituencies. But following a 1998 delimitation exercise by INEC, 12 constituencies were suppressed. These include Kabba-Bunu II, Ijumu II, Koton Karfe I, Yagba West II, Adavi II, Ife/Ogodu, Igala Ogba, Okura, Enjema, Dekina Town, Olamaboro II and Bassa-Nge/Gbirra.
He described their removal as a serious violation of the rights of the affected communities and pointed to two court cases supporting their restoration. One was filed by the Kogi State Government in 2014, which led to a 2015 Federal High Court ruling ordering INEC to restore six constituencies in Kogi East. Another was instituted by Omoluabi Olabode Adeyemi seeking the reinstatement of Kabba-Bunu II.
The lawmaker also reminded the House that on March 19, 2025, the House of Representatives passed a resolution directing INEC to restore all suppressed constituencies in Kogi and Delta States.
Hon. Bello said the delay in implementing these judgments and resolutions has denied thousands of citizens their right to full and fair representation. He added that the failure to conduct the required delimitation exercise has slowed development and weakened democracy in the affected areas for more than 20 years.
The House called on INEC to urgently comply with the constitution and restore the suppressed constituencies without further delay.
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