Senate gives INEC deadline on Anambra, Rivers re-run polls
The Senate has given the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) a deadline of December 10, 2016, to conclude the National Assembly re-run elections in Anambra and Rivers States.
The Senate also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to fill the vacuum created by the death of former Minister of Labour and Employment, Chief James Ocholi, by naming his replacement from Kogi State.
The Senate’s actions were at the instance of a motion moved by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, and co-sponsored by the Senate Leader, Mohammed Ali Ndume.
Ekweremadu recalled that he had earlier drawn the attention of the Senate to the
matter through a motion he sponsored on the subject-matter in which the Upper House directed INEC to conclude quickly the rerun elections in Anambra and Rivers States to fill the vacancies created by the absence of Senators from the two states.
He lamented that till date INEC had failed to comply with the Senate’s resolution.
The Senate, through “Resolution 016/02/16” of September 27, 2016, called on INEC to conclude all pending rerun elections in the country.
Ekweremadu said: “INEC has failed, refused and/or neglected to conduct rerun elections in Rivers State into the Senate, House of Representatives and States’ Houses of Assembly. We also observe that the failure of INEC to conduct the rerun elections in Rivers State within the time frame ordered by the respective elections tribunals and the courts is in breach of the Electoral Act as Section 76 of the 1999 Constitution, thereby endangering the nation’s democracy.
He noted that the failure of INEC to conduct elections in Rivers and Anambra states has continued to deny the people of these states their constitutionally guaranteed rights to be represented in the legislative houses where laws affecting them are being made and endangered probable anxiety among the people of the states.
In his contribution, Senator Ali Ndume said that the absence of Rivers State representatives in the Senate has robbed the people the opportunity of contributing to sensitive Bills such as the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) currently before the Upper House.
He said: “You can imagine that we are about to discuss PIB without any member from Rivers State. You can imagine our colleagues that were seated with us here conducted elections they believe they won, and somebody somewhere said they didn’t win.
“But the truth of the matter is that anyone of us here could have been in that position. Let us remember this: whatever happens to you, you should think of another person. If it is our colleagues from Rivers today, it could be you any day.
“You can imagine if, for whatever reason, for example, myself who had been a victim and our people who have been victims of insurgency, if elections were not conducted I will not be here, let alone being the Senate Leader. How would it be for my people who are ravaged by insurgency not to have somebody to tell you people or my colleagues what is actually on ground? Just imagine the motions we raised that led to the passage of the bill on the North East Development Commission.”
Ndume wondered why the new leadership of INEC cannot live up to its billing by concluding all pending reruns before the end of this year to enable the representatives of the people play their constitutional roles in the parliament.
In his remark, the Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, urged the INEC chairman to live up to his promises of concluding all pending elections in Rivers and Anambra states.
He noted that the conduct of those reruns had become necessary to fill the vacuum created by the absence of lawmakers from the senatorial districts in the Upper Chamber.
