The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has declared three senatorial seats vacant following the deaths of lawmakers representing the affected districts.
The vacancies, announced during Tuesday’s plenary, affected Enugu North, Nasarawa North, and Rivers South-East Senatorial Districts.
Akpabio said the development was in line with constitutional provisions, noting that the demise of the lawmakers necessitated the declaration to ensure continued representation for the affected constituencies.
“Due to the tragedies that have befallen the 10th Senate, vacancies have been created for midterm elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that we fill the seats left vacant by the demise of our colleagues,” he stated.
The Senate President subsequently directed the Independent National Electoral Commission to organise by-elections to fill the vacant positions within the timeframe stipulated by law.
“In line with the provisions of our Constitution, the Independent National Electoral Commission is accordingly mandated to conduct fresh polls to fill these vacant senatorial seats in the affected states within the time specified in the Constitution, which is about 30 days from this declaration,” he added.
The move is expected to trigger electoral activities in the affected districts as INEC prepares to conduct the required by-elections to restore full representation in the Senate.
