Kogi citizens have urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to urgently address the issue of suppressed constituencies in the State.

Citizen Barr. Ayo Kunle Jonathan in company of other lawyers spoke to newsmen on Thursday shortly after submitting a petition to INEC headquarters, in Lokoja to that effect.

He stressed that the Constitution of the country empowers INEC to create constituencies, citing Section 91 to back up his claim .

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Explaining, he said that the section requires the House of Assembly of a state to have three or four State constituencies in a Federal Constituency.

He claimed further that some constituencies were suppressed after the state was created in 1991, resulting in unequal representation in the current Kogi State House of Assembly.

The Lawyer highlighted that Ajaokuta Federal Constituency has only one Assembly Member, while Kabba-Bunu and Ijumu Local Governments which used to have two seats now have one each.

Barrister Jonathan noted that the same situation exists in Yagba Federal Constituency and other areas with suppressed Constituencies.

In the same vein, the Chairman of Kabba-Bunu Local Government,Barr. Zacchaeus Dare Michael stated that laws are meant to be fair and just, lamenting the suppression of some state Constituencies after the creation of the state

He cited some federal constituencies in the three three senatorial districts that are suffering from inadequate representation as a result of the constituency suppression.

He said : “In Kogi Central district with five LGAs, they have six Assembly Lawmakers with six other seats suppressed.

“In Kogi West, we have 7 LGAs with 8 members with four suppressed seats.

However, he stressed further that, “In Idah Federal Constituency, they have four local Government.The four LGAs are represented with a member each in the State Assembly.

“In Ankpa, they have 3 LGAs, they have met the constitutional provision of the State lawmakers. And In Dekina Bassa Federal Constituency, they require one more Lawmaker to fulfill the provision.

The concerned citizens urged INEC and Governor Usman Ahmed Ododo to address the issue before the 2027 elections.

They argued that the current composition of the state assembly is defective and lacks a legal quorum.

“Laws are drafted in the spirit of equity, justice and fairness.

“Section 91 of the nation constitution stipulates that a federal Constituency should have 3 or 4 State Constituencies with members in the State Assembly.

“By the spirit of the Constitution, we demand the restoration of the suppressed seats, because creation of new constitution would require amending the constitution.

“We are therefore asking for the restoration of what was in existence.

“We urge INEC to before the next election, return the Constituencies that existed at state creation that have now been suppressed.

Meanwhile, he added that the implications of what is on the ground in the Kogi State House of Assembly presently is that the House is wrongly constituted.

“They are not forming the legal quorum. If the law says 3, the members will be 27 and if four, it will be 36.

“Thus far, the quorum in the assembly is defective in the eyes of law”, he said