By Kingsley Okoye
A Political Scientist, Prof. Abubakar Oladeji, says INEC is in order on the conduct of by-elections into the vacant National Assembly seats scheduled for June 20.
Oladeji, the Head, Political and Governance Policy Department, Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), Ibadan, stated this while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.
According to him, the elections are constitutionally required to fill any vacancy caused by death or resignation.
“There are laid down constitutional provisions. You have to remember that what you call a by-election is an election in exigency.
“It is an election necessitated by the absence or a vacancy that has been declared due to either removal, death or recall of the incumbent.
“In this case, somebody was appointed; he has to vacate the office. Somebody died, he has to be replaced. So there is the need for the replacement of these people.
“Why? Because they are representing their constituencies. So failure to replace them will mean that their constituencies will suffer lack of representation, which is not good for democracy,” he argued.
Oladeji said that INEC was acting within its mandate by conducting the by-elections, noting that appointments could not replace the constitutional process, stressing: ‘So INEC is right on that’.
“Now, talking about what some people are saying that INEC should just have asked the people to replace the former occupants, that is never done. That is arbitrary.
“In the Nigerian constitution, when a vacancy is declared, the only way to fill that vacancy is through by-election,” he said.
Although the political scientist acknowledged the concerns that the by-elections would be coming too close to the general elections schedule for January 2027, he, however, said it was better to act late than not acting at all.
“Yes, it is better late than never. If INEC conducts those by-elections, it would have done due diligence in terms of the constitutional mandate given to it,” he said.
Oladeji admitted that those elected through the by-elections would serve a shorter term before the end of the current national assembly and the general elections.
He, however, said that the process would ensure that no constituency was left out of adequate representation in the national assembly.(NAN)