The Kogi State House of Assembly has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately restore 12 suppressed state constituencies, in accordance with constitutional provisions, court judgments and recent resolutions of the National Assembly.
The call, which followed the motion moved by the lawmaker representing Kabba/Bunu State Constituency, Hon. Seyi Bello, said that the 1999 Constitution empowers INEC under Sections 112, 114 and the Third Schedule to conduct constituency delimitation and ensure equitable population distribution.
The lawmaker also cited Section 91 of the constitution which prescribes that states must have between three and four times their number of federal constituencies represented in their State Assemblies.
With Kogi having nine federal constituencies, Hon. Bello explained that the state should constitutionally have between 27 and 36 State Assembly seats.
“Kogi State currently has only 25 constituencies, which falls below the constitutional minimum,” he said.
He recalled that upon the creation of Kogi State in 1991, the first Assembly had 32 constituencies, but a 1998 INEC review suppressed twelve constituencies including Kabba-Bunu II, Ijumu II, Koton Karfe I, Yagba West II, Adavi II, Ife/Ogodu, Igala Ogba, Okura, Enjema, Dekina Town, Olamaboro II and Bassa-Nge/Gbirra.
Hon. Bello, who described the suppression as a grave violation of the constitutional rights of the affected communities, referenced two court cases; a 2014 suit by the Kogi State Government, which in 2015 secured a Federal High Court judgment ordering INEC to restore six constituencies in Kogi East; and another by Omoluabi Olabode Adeyemi seeking the restoration of Kabba-Bunu II Constituency.
The lawmaker further drew attention to a March 19, 2025 resolution by the House of Representatives directing INEC to restore suppressed constituencies in both Kogi and Delta States, adding that the continued delay denies citizens their right to full and fair representation.
Expressing concern, the lawmaker said the failure to conduct the delimitation exercise has deprived the state of equitable development and weakened democratic representation for over two decades.
Lawmakers from various parts of the state strongly supported the motion, citing demographic growth, constitutional imbalance and historical evidence.
They referenced areas such as Adavi/Okehi, Koton Karfe and Olamaboro, which previously had multiple constituencies and even produced more than one Assembly member, backed by court judgments and archival records.
The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Aliyu Umar Yusuf, praised the depth of the motion, saying the Assembly maintains complete records of constituencies dating back to 1991and directed the Clerk to immediately compile and attach relevant documents including the 1992 Assembly register and certified court judgments before communicating the resolutions to the INEC Chairman, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Attorney-General of the Federation.
