Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Wednesday declared the seats of two senators elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), David Umahi and Ibrahim Geidam as vacant.
This followed their appointments as ministers of Works and Police Affairs, respectively. Umahi represented Ebonyi South, Geidam represented Yobe East.
Akpabio said the declaration of vacancies in their seats was by Section 68, Subsection (1)(d) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
He called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to commence the process of by-elections in the two senatorial districts immediately.
Earlier in the week, INEC chairman Mahmoud Yakubu, said the commission was considering conducting by-elections and rerun polls in some state and federal constituencies in February 2024.
Yakubu noted that political parties must carry out fresh primaries within the limited period provided by law for the by-elections.
“With regard to the by-elections, you may recall that in my recent address at the swearing-in of new resident electoral commissioners (RECs), which was combined with our last quarterly meeting with the RECs nationwide, I committed that the commission will conduct elections to fill vacancies in the national and state assembly constituencies,” Yakubu said.
Meanwhile, a member of the Niger State House of Assembly, Yakubu Abdulmalik Bala, has dumped the Social Democratic Party (SDP), for the APC.
The lawmaker, who represents Katcha Constituency, defected on the floor of the House on Wednesday.
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Simply raising the APC flag, he said, “Today I have left the Social Democratic Party for the All Progressives Congress due to the hard work of Mr Governor in providing the dividends of democracy to the people.”
The Speaker expressed joy at the lawmaker’s decision to defect from the SDP to the ruling party.
Speaking further in a lighter note, he said, “We welcome you into the largest ruling party. As the only one in the House, I don’t know how one person will be a Minority Leader in the House.”
