Kogi Lawmakers Push For Return Of Lost Constituencies

The Kogi State House of Assembly has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission to restore twelve constituencies that were removed more than two decades ago.

Lawmakers say the call is backed by the Constitution, court rulings and recent decisions of the National Assembly.

The demand followed a motion raised by Seyi Bello, who represents Kabba/Bunu. He drew attention to constitutional provisions that guide constituency allocation and population balance. He noted that states are required to hold three to four times their number of federal constituencies in their State Assemblies. With nine federal constituencies, Kogi should have between twenty-seven and thirty-six seats, yet the state currently has only twenty-five.

The lawmaker explained that Kogi originally had thirty-two constituencies when it was created in 1991. He said an INEC review carried out in 1998 removed twelve of them, including areas in Kabba-Bunu, Ijumu, Koton Karfe, Yagba West, Adavi, Dekina, Olamaboro and Bassa. He described the removal as an action that weakened the political rights of the affected communities.

He pointed to two court cases that supported the restoration of the constituencies. One was a suit filed by the state government that led to a 2015 Federal High Court ruling ordering the return of six constituencies in Kogi East. The other case sought the reinstatement of the Kabba-Bunu II seat. He also mentioned a March 2025 House of Representatives resolution that asked INEC to restore suppressed constituencies in both Kogi and Delta States.

Lawmakers from different zones backed the motion, saying the loss of the constituencies has slowed development and denied people proper representation. They cited population growth, old boundary records and court rulings showing that some areas once had more than one Assembly seat.

Speaker Aliyu Umar Yusuf commended the motion and directed the Clerk to put together all supporting documents, including archived Assembly registers and court rulings. The Assembly plans to send its full resolution to the INEC Chairman, the heads of both chambers of the National Assembly and the Attorney-General of the Federation.