Pius Danba, a human rights attorney, is concerned that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would not hold a bye election in Taraba State’s Jalingo/Yorro/Zing Federal Constituency soon.
In his opinion, this was a long-overdue drill.
On Tuesday, Danba made his stance clear in a letter to the INEC Chairman, claiming that the commission had broken the law by allowing the election for a replacement to take more than 30 days.
Since the untimely passing of February 25 election winner Ismaila Yushau Mohammed, the Jalingo/Yorro/Zing Federal Constituency seat has been unfilled, according to InfoStride News.
He mused, “It will interest you to know that from the 22nd day of April, 2023 to the 13th June,2023 is 52 days,” apparently perplexed by INEC’s procrastination.
There has been no representative for the Jalingo/Yorro/Zing Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives since the 13th of June, 2023, when Ismaila Yushau Mohammed passed away.
According to Section 76 (1) (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), “the people of Jalingo/Yorro/Zing are not represented at all for more than 118 days and counting.”
He further noted that there is only a 21-day grace period after a candidate’s death under the Electoral Act of 2022 (Section 34 (3) (b)).
The eminent lawyer said the Commission made a mistake by prioritizing the governorship races in Bayelsa and Kogi.
When asked about the importance of the Jalingo/Yorro/Zing Federal Constituency election, he stated, “it appears that your commission does not consider the election of Jalingo/Yorro/Zing to be an equally important constitutional activity at all.”
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