Akpabio declares three Senate seats vacant, orders INEC to conduct by-elections

The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday officially announced that three senatorial seats in the 10th Senate have become vacant following the deaths of their occupants.

The affected constituencies are Enugu North Senatorial District, Nasarawa North Senatorial District, and Rivers South-East Senatorial District.

Akpabio made the declaration during plenary, explaining that the vacancies arose from the passing of the lawmakers representing the districts, in accordance with constitutional provisions.

“Due to the tragedies that have befallen the 10th Senate, vacancies have been created for midterm elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure that we fill the vacancies created by the demise of our colleagues,” he said.

Relying on the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the Senate President formally declared each of the seats vacant.

“I hereby declare vacant Enugu North Senatorial District. The seat is hereby declared vacant,” he said.

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He also confirmed the vacancies in Nasarawa North Senatorial District in Nasarawa State and Rivers South-East Senatorial District in Rivers State.

Following the declaration, Akpabio directed the Independent National Electoral Commission to organise by-elections to fill the empty seats within the legally specified period.

“In line with the provisions of our Constitution, the Independent National Electoral Commission is accordingly mandated to conduct fresh polls to fill these vacant senatorial seats in the affected states within the time specified in the Constitution, which is about 30 days from this declaration,” Akpabio said.

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This move paves the way for new electoral contests in the affected districts, as political parties begin preparations to occupy the vacant positions in the Senate.