A former member of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Suleiman Ibrahim-Dabo, has petitioned the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mahmoud Yakubu, over the delay in the conduct of a by-election for Zaria Kewaye State Constituency.
DAILY NIGERIAN reports that in March 2024, the speaker of the House of Assembly declared the seat of the member representing Zaria/Kewaye Constituency, Ahmed Mohammed, vacant, following his resignation to pick an appointment as commissioner of the FCT civil service commission.
In a letter titled “Delay in conduct of Zaria Kewaye State constituency election” and dated February 12, 2025, Mr Dabo lamented that almost a year after the former occupant of the seat resigned, the electoral umpire was yet to conduct an election to replace him.
He therefore demanded an explanation from Mr Yakubu on the reasons for the delay in conducting the election.
“By the 18th of next month [March 2025], It would be exactly one year of a huge vacuum in my local government, Zaria.
“Since the exit of Hon. Ahmed Mohammed from the Assembly, no attempt was made by INEC to inform members of this very important constituency on when to conduct a by-election in order to fill the vacuum, except periodic rumours of tentative dates.
“The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had left members of this constituency in limbo,” he said.
He added that the Kaduna State Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC was informed about the vacuum by the “Clerk of the Kaduna State House of Assembly vide a letter referenced LG/KD/S.207/VOL.III dated 26th March, 2024 [See copy attached].
“By this letter, it is expected that INEC would swiftly arrange the conduct of a by-election in order to protect the rights of the constituents,” Mr Dabo said.
He, therefore, expressed dismay at the non-conduct of the election, saying it is gradually becoming a part of INEC.
To buttress his point, Mr Dabo recalls that when “one of the members of the Kaduna State House of Assembly from Giwa Local Government, Hon. Rilwan Aminu Gadagau, was killed by bandits on the Kaduna-Zaria road in December 2021, where the seat remained vacant till the next round of election period in 2023.”
While lamenting that his constituents have been left without representation at the state assembly, the former lawmaker described the actions of INEC “as a very dangerous precedent and a destructive democratic practice.”
He added that “This development had given room to the emergence of a popular narrative that INEC is conniving with the ruling party, APC, to prevent the conduct of by-elections especially in areas where the ruling APC is certain of losing election[s].
“It is in this light that I call the attention of INEC to desist from this unhealthy practice and boldly express in action that it is an umpire.
“In the meantime, as a former member of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, a critical stakeholder in Zaria Local Government and a Card carrying member of PDP in Zaria Local Government, I kindly demand for an explanation on this unhealthy democratic practice that is undermining the fundamental rights of the teeming voting populace in my local government and also denying them access to the dividends of democracy through their representative in the Assembly.”
He said the letter is in line with the Freedom of Information Act 2011.
