The House of Representatives, yesterday, passed for second reading, a bill seeking to establish a development commission for the South-South geopolitical zone with debate.
The bill sponsored by Rep. Awaji-Inombek Abiante was first read on the floor of the House for the first time on December 19, 2020.
The bill seeks to establish a South-South Development Commission (SSDC) charged with the responsibility to receive and manage funds from the Federation Account Allocation and other sources, donations, grants, aids for the integration, development, resolution of infrastructural deficit, militancy, communal crisis as well and tackle ecological and environmental problems.
Similarly, a member of the House of Representatives from Rivers State, Rep Farah Dagogo, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to delineate federal constituencies in Rivers State, to shore up the number of National Assembly representatives from his state.
He said the function will not require the electoral body to seek amendments to the Constitution.
The legislator said while some sections of the country’s Electoral Act require amendments, the issue of delimitation or delineation, was already covered in the Constitution, and what INEC needs was “adherence to laid down procedures as clearly stated in sections 91, 112 and 114.”
The lawmaker spoke in reference to comments by some INEC officials at a week-long retreat on the review of the electoral legal framework jointly organised by the commission, the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES).
He said the last constituency delimitation was done “more than a long time ago”, adding that “the population of the country and registered voters have increased exponentially, thereby underscoring an urgent review for proportional and fair representation”.
Dagogo lamented the seeming unwillingness of INEC to carry out its functions as required by the Constitution.
He said the position of the Constitution, on that matter, is clear and devoid of any ambiguity.
“Section 112 empowers the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to divide every state in the Federation into such number of State Constituencies within that State.
“INEC is also empowered by Section 114 (1) of the Constitution to review the division of every state into constituencies at intervals of not less than ten years,” he said.
According to him, “Also, Section 91 of the Constitution explains how a state is qualified for state constituencies where the House of Assembly of a state shall consist of three or four times the number of seats which that state has in the House of Representatives provided that a House of Assembly of a state shall consist of not less than 24 and not more than 40 members.”
He said: “It was in the light of the foregoing, and especially in the spirit of Section 91 of the Constitution and also because I believe that where a law spells injustice, its injurious effect shall be curtailed by the National Assembly as the institution saddled with that responsibility that I pray the House to direct INEC to ensure compliance with the Constitution.
“Rivers State has 13 members in the House of Representatives and a 32-member state House of Assembly. My interpretation of the Constitution, is that Rivers State is qualified for an additional seven State Constituencies, to increase its number to, at least, 39 state constituency seats.”
He added that “it is not only Rivers State that is short-changed, but other states such as Plateau, Oyo, Sokoto, Borno, Anambra, Bauchi, Delta, Akwa Ibom, and many more are also adversely affected by INEC’s failure to discharge this obligation.
“While INEC is focusing on amendments of some sections of the electoral acts, they should also see to the enforcement of the Constitution where they have necessary powers. It is more than 20 years since the last delimitation was done. The Constitution is supreme to any other law and we should toe and follow it to the letter”, he argued.