There has been palpable disquiet in Bassa and Jos North Local Government Areas, over the non conduct of bye-election into the seat of their Federal Constituency. MUHAMMAD TANKO SHITTU examines the intrigues responsible for that.
The Bassa/Jos North is one of the 360 federal constituencies that constitute the House of Representatives, of the Nigeria’s National Assembly. Whereas in 2019, election into the seat was held, with late Haruna Ibrahim Maitala, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), duly elected and returned, a position he held sway till 2nd April, 2021, when a lethal car accident terminated his representation of the constituents.
Hon. Maitala’s demise created a vacuum that necessitated a bye-election, within 90 days, as enshrined in the 1999 constitution as amended, as the 2010 Electoral Act also stipulates. However, almost six months the vacuum is yet to be filled, with lots of mixed feelings trailing the non conduct of the bye-election, which is the sole responsibility of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), hence the constituents of Bassa/Jos North are systematically schemed out of national representation.
Constituents express disquiet
As Nigerians with equal rights to representation, in the discourse of national issues that will steer development and national integration, the non conduct of the bye-election is perceived by many as, “outright denial of their right to be heard,” and, “further denial to be part of those that are accessing developmental stride,” in the last five months that their representative passed away.
According to Sani Usman, a resident of Jos North, “the refusal by INEC to conduct the election is greatly affecting our growth; our fundamental right to be represented in the National Assembly is not only infringed upon, but is that we are skipped out in the scheme of national affairs.”
Mr Joseph Azi was of the view that for INEC or whoever it is to have not deemed it important to give back their right of representation in the green chamber, is seemingly a strangulation on democracy, which has given people the right to vote and put in their representation.
“It is now clear that that our constituency is out rightly shortchanged in any budget proposal for the 2022 fiscal year, through which some projects are lobbied for execution that would stimulate development,” he said.
Similarly, in 2011, the constituency suffered almost four to five months of non representation, over the non conduct of a rerun election in one single polling unit at Dogon agogo, after an election petition tribunal nullified the return of Mr. Peter Akuja, and ordered for a rerun, which results later led to the emergence of Hon. Suleiman Yahaya Kwande of then Democratic People’s Party (DPP).
House of representatives also kicked.
Seemingly disturbed by the under representation of the people of Bassa/Jos north federal constituency, the green chambers in its resolutions of 15th September, 2021, after deliberations on a matter of urgent public importance, bothering on the non conduct of the bye-election, coupled with the recent security challenges, agreed to mandate INEC, to without further delay, conduct the election to give the constituents a voice at national discourse.
The motion raised by Hon. Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, representing the trio of Pankshin/Kanke/Kanam from Plateau state, expressed surprise that by-election was held in Lere federal constituency of Kaduna state, while the member died later than that of Bassa/Jos north constituency.
“We lost Haruna Maitala of Jos North/Bassa Federal constituency before the member from Lere (Kaduna state) died, so it beats my imagination that we have a colleague from Bassa/Jos North, where they have insecurity problem, where they should have a representation on this floor of the house to speak for them, but election was conducted where a member was lost prior to the one lost in Bassa/Jos north federal constituency,” he frowned.
Gagdi said that the people are confused and will not want to be under-represented on the floor of the house. He called on speaker Femi Gbajabiamila to also call the attention of INEC to henceforth conduct bye-election to ensure that the people of the constituency are rightly represented.
“I urge Mr Speaker to take the issue of election in Jos North/Bassa various serious so that the people that are having tremendous problems will have representation in this house. We hope, Mr Speaker, that all the prayers would be sustained, so that you visit the Plateau people so that intervention by humanitarian agencies will equally go to the door steps of the affected people, he prayed.
“To mandate the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a matter of urgency to conduct election to fill the vacant position of jos north/bassa federal constituent without further delay so that the can also have their voice in this honorable house.
INEC response
However, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in its swift response to the house resolutions, blamed the leadership of the House of Representatives for the delay in conducting a by-election into the vacant seat.
Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said the umpire had not received any communication to that effect, that a vacuum has been created in the seat.
“A by-election in the event of death or resignation of a member of the National or State Assembly is conducted by the commission following the declaration of vacancy by the Presiding Officer, that is, the President (in the case of the Senate) or Speaker (in the cases of the House of Representatives and State House of Assembly).
“With reference to the Jos North/Bassa federal constituency, the Speaker of the House of Representatives has not declared the seat vacant as he did recently in respect of the Lere Federal Constituency of Kaduna state for which a bye-election was conducted by the commission on 14th August 2021.
“Once such a vacancy is declared, the law requires the commission to conduct the bye-election within 30 days. At present, there is nothing INEC can do until a vacancy is declared by the Speaker which is always accompanied by a writ personally signed by him for the commission to conduct a bye-election,” Oyekanmi said.
Jostlers of the seat
Several members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on whose platform late Maitala, represented his constituents, have since expressed aspiration to vie for the vacant seat, so also did members of the opposition Peoples Demotic Party (PDP) and a host of others, many of whom keeps wondering as to why the house leadership has not declared the seat vacant in the first instance, communicate to the umpire so that the bye-election would be conducted, in the second instance.
The likes of former Minister of Information and Communications Hon. Dasuki Salihu Nakande, erstwhile members of the house, Hon. Shehu Sale Hassan, Hon. Suleiman Yahaya Kwande, Hon. Lumuba Ade are amongst the dozens of party members that have expressed their intentions to vie.
Similarly, the National Coordinator Buhari Campaign Organization (BCO), Alhaji Danladi Garba Pasali, a serving police officer Sadeeq Shuaibu, as well as some other bigwigs within the party.
Likewise Mr. Jonathan Dabo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that came second to late Maitala in 2019, Jamilu Lawandi Datti and others have all indicated their intentions to vie.
Mr. Abdulmajid Lawal of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) that came third in the 2019 polls amongst members of other opposition political parties are all waiting for the umpire to announce date of the bye-election.
It is observed that constituens of Bassa/Jos north are certainly not happy over the non conduct of the bye-election with less a year and some months to the end of tenure of the 8th Assembly.
Therefore, in the interest of justice, fairness and equitable representation, the leadership of the House of Reps, notably office of the Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, should henceforth, declare the vacancy of seat and subsequently transmitted same to the electoral umpire, while on its side the umpire should heed to the resolution of the house urging to the constituens their rightful position of national representation that would steer their growth.
