The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed June 19, 2021, for the conduct of the by-election to fill the vacant seat for Sabon Gari State Constituency of Kaduna State House of Assembly.
The seat, initially occupied by former Speaker Aminu Abdullahi Shagali, was declared vacant in April after the house accused the lawmaker of absconding from all Assembly activities for more than a year without any reason.
According to the legislators, the ex-speaker’s absence without just cause from one-third of the meetings of the Assembly for one year was in contravention of Section 109 (1)[f] and (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, who made the disclosure on Friday, said the commission also fixed June 19, 2021, to fill the vacant seat for Gwaram Federal Constituency of Jigawa State.
Okoye said the Gwaram Federal Constituency seat was declared vacant following the death of the serving member for the constituency, Yuguda Hassan Kila on March 4, 2021.
He noted that following the ongoing expansion of voter access to polling units in the country, the bye-elections would hold in the existing polling units and voting points across the constituencies covering the local government areas.
He advised political parties to submit the names of their polling agents for the election to the INEC electoral officers for Sabon Gari and Gwaram local government areas on or before June 1, 2021, noting that campaigns by political parties would end on June 17, 2021.
“The commission enjoins all political parties to strictly adhere to the timetable and schedule of activities and avoid rancorous primaries and violence during the campaigns and throughout the electoral process,” Okoye said.
“Political parties must pay attention to section 87 of the Electoral Act relating to the nomination processes and submit to the commission the names and particulars of candidates that scored majority of lawful votes and emerged from valid party primaries.”
