Coalition of Civil society groups, Citizens Centre for Integrated Development and Social Rights (CCIDESOR), and Public Interest Coalitions at the weekend rose from a meeting in Owerri, calling on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to conduct re-run election of the Imo North (Okigwe), senatorial district.

In a statement signed on behalf of CCIDESOR, Emeka Ononamadu, and Public Interest Coalition, Dr. Nkeiru Ihesie, they wondered why it has taken the INEC so long to conduct re run for the zone since last year when an Appeal Court declared void the seat occupied by Chief Athan Achonu, ordering that the exercise be conducted within 90 days. They maintained that the people of the zone have been denied such representation.

Also, the Citizens Accountability Assembly has urged the Imo State lawmakers to step up monitoring effort to ensure the completion of all abandoned projects in the state.

The statement said: “Democracy is a representative form of government; therefore those who are denied the opportunity to elect their representative have no cause to celebrate. This the feeling in Imo North senatorial zone where a scheduled rerun for the senatorial slot has been put on perpetual hold by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) since February 20th, 2016. While the rest of 106 senatorial zones mark the democracy day, the people of Imo North are licking the wound inflicted on them by the refusal of INEC to conduct the senatorial election rerun for the zone. Citizens are therefore using this opportunity to call on INEC to conduct the rerun election to enable them have a representative at the senate.’’

They also used the opportunity to call INEC to conduct and complete the election in any part of Nigeria where elections have been declared inconclusive or rerun is lingering.

Nigeria must grow democracy values which start from representation. The denial of any sect of people representation, under any guise, is keeping them in dictatorship under a democracy.”

The statement further stated: “Citizens Centre for Integrated Development and Social Rights, Public Interest Coalition in partnership with concerned Imo state CSOs are urging INEC to conduct the senate election rerun for Imo North. Analysis of the situation in that zone has shown that the area is not volatile and has no serious cases of electoral violence as painted by INEC and security agencies. The just concluded 2016 national budget may have been concluded with any input from any senator representing Imo north. A scrutiny of 2016 national budget shows that Imo North has no serious project to be implemented in the zone. This confirms the need for every section of Nigeria to have their representatives so that they will have someone to go to or someone to blame.

“In President Mohammdu Buhari’s first year in office, Imo north has not been represented at the senate. This is a very poor scorecard for this regime that requires urgent improvement. Imo Concerned CSOs are calling on the president to urgently restore the democracy rights of Imo North citizens by directing INEC to quickly conduct all the outstanding elections in Nigeria and make all Nigerians to feel belonged. Democracy is a representative government. Any section of Nigeria that is not represented has been denied democracy right, which is part of citizen’s fundamental right guaranteed by the constitution, which he has sworn to protect. “