Senate President Officially Declares Umahi, Geidam’s Seats Vacant
Senate President Officially Declares Umahi, Geidam’s Seats Vacant
Senate President Godswill Akpabio has officially declared the seats of Senator Dave Umahi of Ebonyi South Senatorial District and Ibrahim Geidam of Yobe East Senatorial District vacant, following their assumption of ministerial roles.
In response, the Senate has directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to swiftly organize by-elections to fill the now-vacant seats.
Umahi and Geidam, who were inaugurated as members of the 10th National Assembly in June, resigned from their positions in August after being appointed as ministers by President Bola Tinubu. Umahi now serves as the Minister of Works, while Geidam holds the position of Minister of Police Affairs.
In a related development, the former governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, recently resigned as Labour Minister to return to the Senate, following a court verdict that affirmed him as the Senator for Plateau South.
The INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, indicated on Monday that re-run and bye-elections are likely to take place across the country in February.
He stated, “With regard to the bye-elections, you may recall that in my recent address at the swearing-in of new Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) which was combined with our last quarterly meeting with the RECs nationwide, I made a commitment that the Commission will conduct elections to fill vacancies in the National and State Assembly constituencies. The Commission is looking at the first week of February 2024; in just a little over one month to conduct both the re-run and bye-elections.”
