|By Adejumo Adekunle
The Kogi State House of Assembly has pressed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately restore 12 state constituencies suppressed more than two decades ago, insisting the move is vital to guarantee fair and lawful representation.
The demand followed a motion moved by Hon. Seyi Bello, member representing Kabba/Bunu Constituency, who argued that the 1999 Constitution empowers INEC to carry out constituency delimitation and ensure population is fairly distributed across electoral boundaries.
Citing Section 91 of the constitution, Bello noted that each state must have between three and four times its number of federal constituencies represented in the state assembly. With Kogi holding nine federal constituencies, the state is entitled to between 27 and 36 assembly seats. “Kogi State currently has only 25 constituencies, which falls below the constitutional minimum,” he stated.
Bello reminded lawmakers that when Kogi State was created in 1991, the First Assembly operated with 32 constituencies. However, INEC’s 1998 delimitation exercise suppressed 12 constituencies, including Kabba-Bunu II, Ijumu II, Koton Karfe I, Yagba West II, Adavi II, Ife/Ogodu, Igala Ogba, Okura, Enjema, Dekina Town, Olamaboro II and Bassa-Nge/Gbirra.
He described the suppression as a violation of the rights of the affected communities and referenced two court cases backing their restoration. One, filed by the Kogi State Government in 2014, resulted in a 2015 Federal High Court judgment ordering INEC to restore six constituencies in Kogi East. Another case, instituted by Omoluabi Olabode Adeyemi, sought the reinstatement of Kabba-Bunu II.
Bello further recalled that on March 19, 2025, the House of Representatives passed a resolution directing INEC to reinstate all suppressed constituencies in Kogi and Delta States. He lamented that INEC’s failure to implement the constitutional provisions, court orders and legislative resolutions has denied thousands of citizens fair representation, slowed development and weakened democratic participation for over 20 years.
The Assembly urged INEC to urgently comply with the constitution and restore all suppressed constituencies without further delay.
