Chekwube Nzomiwu 
Eleven months after the death of Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, Anambra South senatorial district has had no representative at the Nigerian Senate. Senator Ubah represented Anambra South in both the 9th and the current 10th Senate until his death in a London hospital on July 26, 2024.
He was interred in his hometown, Nnewi, Nnewi North LGA, Anambra State, in November last year. Four months after his burial, precisely in March this year, the Senate declared his seat vacant alongside the seat of the incumbent Governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo.
Prior to his election as Governor, Okpebholo represented Edo Central senatorial district. The Senate further directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct by-elections to fill the vacancies declared. Unfortunately, more than two months after the Senate gave this directive, INEC has not made any effort in this regard.
Constituents of Anambra South, including my humble self, are increasingly becoming restive about this development. Anambra South comprises seven local government areas, namely Aguata, Ekwusigo, Ihiala Nnewi North, Nnewi South, Orumba North and Orumba South, arranged in alphabetical order.
For how long are the populace in the aforementioned areas going to remain without a representative at the upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly, where critical decisions affecting the nation are taken? Please, INEC give us an answer to this question as soon as possible.
Section 71 (a) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, subject to Section 72, divided each State of the Federation into three senatorial districts for the purposes of election into the Senate. Section 71 (b) subject to the provisions of Section 49 of the Constitution, divided the country into 360 Federal constituencies for the purposes of election into the House of Representatives, the second legislative chamber.
Section 76 (1) rests the power to decide the date of election to each House of the National Assembly on INEC in accordance with the Electoral Act.
According to Section 76 (2), the date should not be earlier than 150 days and not later than 130 days before or where the election is to fill a vacancy occurring more than 90 days before such date, not later than 30 days after the vacancy occurred.
This being the case, what is holding INEC from executing its mandate by conducting a by-election to enable the constituents of Anambra South democratically elect a replacement for their late Senator? Section 77 (1) says that subject to the provisions of the Constitution, every Senatorial district or Federal Constituency established in accordance with the provisions of this chapter of the Constitution (V), should return one member to be elected to the Senate or House of Representatives in such a manner prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly.
Thus, the people of Anambra South are constitutionally entitled to representation at the Senate. The electoral commission is not doing us a favour by conducting an election to elect a replacement for Ubah. In addition to law making, the National Assembly has powers and control over public funds.
So, it is our entitlement to be adequately represented where the resources of the country are being distributed. Besides, Anambra State deserves its full complement of representation in the National Assembly, ditto the South East geo-political zone.
Since the death of Senator Ubah, Anambra State has been represented by two Senators, instead of three. The South East zone has the least number of senators in the country, and yet, it has been running short of one for eleven months.
So, INEC should quickly rise to the occasion and initiate the process of conducting the Anambra South senatorial election without further delay. The Commission should know that its inaction has been fuelling all kinds of speculations over the vacant senatorial seat. One of such rumours is that a deal has been brokered by the ruling party in Anambra State, the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and Abuja over the seat.
The trade by barter would culminate in the All Progressive Congress (APC), the ruling party at the federal level, taking back Anambra South, whilst the incumbent Governor of Anambra State, Professor Charles Soludo of APGA retains his governorship seat. Part of the said arrangement is that the South senatorial election will hold the same day with the governorship election on November 8.
This speculation has been heightened by the recent state visit by President Bola Tinubu to Anambra State, where he received an endorsement from APGA for a second term. Granted that the said deal is still in the realm of speculation, it is said that there is an atom of truth in every rumour.
While APGA is free to endorse any presidential candidate of its choice, as it had done with the presidential candidates of the ruling party every election cycle since 2015, it behooves on INEC to ensure that a level playing ground was accorded to all the political parties in the by-election in Anambra South.
Let us recall that Senator Ubah was elected on the platform of the Young Progressive Party (YPP) before he defected to the APC to pursue his governorship ambition, which death truncated. Since the late Ubah was a product of a relatively free, fair and transparent election, his successor should also emerge through the same manner and not a political barter system.
