Some stakeholders in Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu say the Independent National Electoral Commission’s decision to conduct by-elections for vacant legislative seats a few months before the 2027 elections is not a waste of resources.
They described it as a constitutional necessity to ensure equity and representation. The stakeholders stated this while responding to a survey on the essence of conducting by-elections a few months before next year’s general election.
INEC will conduct by-elections in six states and off-cycle governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun. The by-elections will cover senatorial vacancies in Enugu, Nasarawa, Rivers, and Ondo, as well as a House of Representatives seat in Kano and a State House of Assembly seat in Kebbi.
In Enugu, a political analyst, Bennet Edeh, said the conduct of by-elections was backed by the constitution, which mandated INEC to fill vacant elective positions within 90 days. According to him, even if the tenure left is short, the electoral body is still legally required to organise the election unless the law is amended.
He, however, noted that although the exercise was constitutional, it could amount to a huge financial burden on the country, especially when the general election was only months away.
He advocated for an amendment to the relevant sections of the constitution to allow vacant seats occurring less than one year before the general election to be merged with the main election.
Mr Edeh added that candidates elected through such by-elections might have limited time to make meaningful legislative contributions before returning to campaign for another election.
The Enugu chairman of the Public Affairs Analysts of Nigeria, Ambrose Igboke, noted that affected constituencies deserve representation. He said the remaining tenure of the current state and national assemblies was still substantial and should not be ignored.
“People whose constituencies are affected should not stay without representation for one year. The inauguration of the next assembly will be in June 2027, and that is effectively one year away,” he said.
Mr Igboke argued that democracy demanded continuous representation of the people at all levels. According to him, funds had already been appropriated for the electoral process, and no part of the country should be denied representation because of cost considerations.
Peter Umeadi, a former Anambra chief judge and 2023 presidential candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, said every institution operated within laid-down rules and procedures.
Gerald Ezirim, a lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, said six months was enough for somebody elected by the people to give effective representation as well as attract democracy dividends.
Mr Ezirim, the chairman of the South-East Association of Political Scientists, said it was important unless the constitution said otherwise.
Dan Ugwu, a lawyer and rights activist, said democracy, being government of the people by the people and for the people, abhors a vacuum, so conducting by-elections six months before general elections was not only necessary but democratic as well as allowed by the electoral act.
In Ebonyi, Emmanuel Ekpeta, a legal practitioner with Ogodo, Ogodo & Co in Abakiliki, said that Nigeria was viable to conduct by-election but should be regulated within the provisions of the law. According to him, the reason for the by-election is based on the circumstances.
Monday Nwigbo, a commissioner for the Ebonyi State Local Government Service Commission, said that a by-election was proper when the need arises. He stressed the need for free and fair elections in 2027.
In Anambra, Chris Elumunoh, a veteran journalist and former Anambra state chairman of Ohaneze Ndigbo, described the six-month conduct of the by-election as constitutional requirements and rights of the zone.
Mr Elumunoh said that the nation’s electoral umpire had the duty to conduct the by-election to avoid a vacancy in the legislative seats declared vacant.
According to him, in a good conscience, the time frame is too short to be entangled with such a huge process of electioneering and should be patriotically overlooked.
Maxwell Ezeude, Awka-based legal practitioner and a public affairs analyst, said that it would be nice to balance the niceties of law. He said that it was not proper considering the cost and urged that the constituents, having endured much, should exercise patience till the next general election to bring out a credible representative.
He said rushing to conduct a by-election within six months of a general election was a total waste of scarce resources.
Chris Azor, th president of the International Peace and Civic Responsibility Centre, said that holding such elections barely six months before a general election raised serious questions of prudence, cost, and national priority.
Mr Azor said that civil society groups, therefore, believed there was a need for electoral reforms that balanced constitutional compliance with practical realities.
(NAN)
