A group of protesters, yesterday, stormed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lokoja, kicking against the alleged suppression of some state constituencies by the umpire.

Spokesperson for the protesters, Ayokunle Jonathan, submitted: “We are here this morning to present a protest letter to INEC on the suppressed constituencies in Kogi State.

“The Constitution mandates the INEC to create some constituencies, particularly as it relates to Section 91 of the Constitution, which mandates that there should be three or four state constituencies in every federal constituency in any state.

“But we observed that after the state’s creation, some particular constituencies were suppressed, and by this, there is no equal representation at the Kogi State House of Assembly.

“So, we have written to INEC national headquarters through the Kogi State office, mandating INEC to comply with these constitutional provisions before the next election to enable equal representation.”

Also speaking, Chairman of Kaba Bunu council area, Dare Zacharia, stated: “If you look at the policy today, particularly as it relates to the Kogi State House of Assembly, we have just 25 members of the House of Assembly presently as against the required members stipulated under Section 91 and Section 114 of the Constitution.

“As a lawyer, laws are drafted in the spirit of fairness, justice, and equity. And this fairness, equity, and justice have been murdered over time in Kogi State.”

He continued: “I said so because Section 91 of the 1999 Constitution has stipulated that a Federal House of Representatives will have three or four House of Assembly members in the State Assembly. That means there are supposed to be 36 state constituencies in Kogi, but we currently have 25. Where are the remaining 11 state constituencies? INEC has continued to suppress the remaining 11 state constituencies

“So, we are not asking for the creation of new state constituencies, because that will involve amending the 1999 Constitution to create more constituencies. But we are asking for the restoration of what has been before.

“And we are urging INEC to restore those missing 11 constituencies for the Kogi people before the 2027 election. INEC should revert to that old 1991, 1992 structure of the State Assembly.”

These are the reasons for this protest, and we have presented our protest letter to the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Lokoja, Dr Tersoo Agundu, he added.