Despite the 1999 constitution’s provisions, the Ibadan South East 2 constituency seat in the Oyo State House of Assembly remains vacant after 119 days.
On July 12, Honourable Olusegun Popoola, who represented the constituency on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform, died, leaving the seat vacant.
Prior to his death and subsequent burial on July 27, the late Popoola had secured the PDP ticket to run for a second term.
To fill the vacancy, and in accordance with the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) guidelines, some political parties held processes to select their candidates for the upcoming bye-election.
Omikunle Olayinka, PDP; Adegoke Wareed, All Progressives Congress; and Folorunso Tolulope, Accord party were among the candidates submitted to INEC for the bye-election.
Some party representatives on Monday said they had submitted the names of their candidates for the bye-election but were still waiting for the election date from INEC.
Section 116 (1 and 2) of the 1999 constitution stipulates:
(1) Elections to a House of Assembly shall be held on a date to be appointed by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
(2) The date mentioned in subsection (1) of this section shall not be earlier than sixty days before and not later than the date on which the House of Assembly stands dissolved, or where the election is to fill a vacancy occurring more than three months before such date, not later than one month after the vacancy occurred.
In an interview with Tribune Online, a top INEC official stated that the commission had yet to make a decision on how to fill the vacant position.
The staff, however, stated that the commission’s options are to announce a date for a bye election solely for the Ibadan South East 2 constituency, to hold it on the same day as other pending bye elections, or to leave the position vacant until the next general election.
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