By Mary Amodu- Lokoja.
Members of the Igala/ Bassa consultative forum led by Alhaji Hassan Yakubu, has called on the independent Electoral Commission to negotiate political relevance towards attaining sufficient dividends of democracy to Igala/Bassa land by conducting the declared inconclusive election in the Eastern Senatorial District of the State.
In Feb 2016, the Independent Electoral Commission conducted about 35 re-run elections across the country. The Kogi East Senatorial district participated in Senatorial Seat, House of Assembly seats from 5 LGA in the State.
The group who submitted the petition letter to the representative of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Lokoja, the State Capital said “As we speak, we the Igala/Bassa people have no representatives in the Senate and two House of Assembly seats”
“Four months after the re-run election was conducted, INEC has not deem it fit to come out categorically to tell us what is holding back the release of these three remaining seats or conduct another election”.
They assured INEC that parameters conducive to conduct a free, fair and credible election are present and available in Kogi East Senatorial District
“It therefore beats our imagination as to why INEC has not done the needful by concluding the activities of the re-run to enable us have a representatives”.
The group further stated that” any further delay amount to deliberately disenfranchising the teeming population of Kogi East, the consequences of which we don’t want to fathom nor guarantee the reaction of the people” he said.
In response, INEC’s representative, Mr. Yagba Julius promised to deliver their message to the national chairman of the commission. He assured them that the INEC chairman will look into the matter and take action that will suit the people of Kogi East.
