Reps task INEC on constituency delineation

The House of Representatives on Wednesday tasked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to embark on constituency delineation in the country.

The resolutions of the House followed a motion on the “review of the division of states of the federation into federal constituency” sponsored by Rep. Ndudi Elumelu (PDP-Delta) at Wednesday’s plenary.

Presenting the motion, Elumelu, also Minority Leader, said that since the commencement of the 4th Republic, INEC has not deemed it necessary to delineate constituency.

He said that the act was a violation of section 73(1) of the 1999 constitution as amended as it deprived citizens of bloated federal constituencies adequate attention.

He expressed worries that though the constitution provided for a 10-year time frame for constituency reviews, adding that INEC had not done any known review in the last 22 years of the democratic dispensation.

He tasked INEC to be alive to its responsibilities, adding that a situation where some federal constituencies were twice the size of others in both size and population was at variance with constitution.