By Oyibo Salihu
Lokoja
The people of Eastern Senatorial District of Kogi state yesterday marched to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lokoja over the Senate and two House of Assembly positions that still emained inconclusive after several months of re-run.
The group, Igala/Bassa Consultative Forum, stormed the Commission’s office in Lokoja and appealed it to conduct a fresh election, saying any further delay could amount to deliberate disenfranchisement of the teeming population of the district.
Spokesman of the Forum, Alhaji Hassan Yakubu Enape, said in February, this year, INEC conducted over 35 re-runs across the country, noting that Kogi East Senatorial District participated in Senatorial seat, five House of Assembly seats for Ankpa, Idah, Ofu, Dekina 1 and 2 state constituencies.
He lamented that out of those seats, only three House of Assembly seats had been declared and certificate of return issued to the candidates.
He pointed out that Kogi East Senatorial election and that of Idah, Ofu House of Assembly still remained inconclusive after several months of the election.
“As we speak, one year into the life of this administration, we, Igala/Bassa people, have no representatives in the Senate and two Houses of Assembly seats.
“The people are getting agitated, restive and apprehensive. To us, we have been disenfranchised,” he said.
Enape, who also lamented that four months after the re-run was conducted, INEC had not deemed it fit to tell the people of the district what was holding back the release of the three remaining re-runs, said all issues, conditions and parameters needed for the conduct of free, fair and credible election were present and available in the district.
“Thus, it beats our imagination as to why INEC has not done the needful by concluding the activities of the re-run election or conduct another re-run to enable us have full complement and quality representation in both upper chamber of the Senate and Kogi state House of Assembly.”
The INEC Head of general Administration and Personnel in the state who presented the Forum’s petition to the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja, Mr. Yagba Julius, appealed to them to maintain peace in the district to enable the INEC conduct free, fair and credible elections.
