Osun Lawmaker Calls For Creation Of More State Constituencies
The lawmaker representing the Irewole/Isokan State Constituency in the Osun State House of Assembly, Hon. Abiola Ibrahim, has demanded that more constituencies be created from the existing constituencies that have more than one local government.
Ibrahim said the Assembly has been shortchanged with the number of constituency seats allocated to it.
Raising a matter of personal explanation during the plenary on Monday, Ibrahim stated that the shortchange came up due to the provisions of Section 91 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
According to Ibrahim, the creation of more state constituencies will not only increase representation and ease governance but also bring governance closer to the people.
He said” “Subject to the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, a House of Assembly of a State shall consist of three or four times the number of seats which the State has in the House of Representative.”
Ibrahim subsequently advanced that based on the fact that Osun has nine federal constituencies, the assembly is entitled to between 27 and 36 State constituencies.
Also, the member representing Boripe/Boluwaduro Constituency, Hon. Femi Popoola, in his submission, disclosed that he had earlier raised the matter in the 6th and 7th Assembly with no result in sight.
Popoola urged that the matter be given the necessary attention it deserved.
Also, lawmakers representing Ede North, Ifelodun, and Atakumosa East and West State Constituencies aligned with Popoola and Ibrahim’s submissions.
A motion was thereafter moved and seconded on the matter.
The motion held that the splitting of four State Constituencies of Osun State be forwarded to the National Assembly and its Committee on the review of the 1999 Constitution.
OSUN DEFENDER recalled that the people of Irepodun/Orolu had in the past approached a Federal High Court in Osogbo to demand splitting of the Constituency.
The court granted the plaintiffs’ prayer on the splitting of the constituency in 2019, but the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) appealed the judgment.
The matter is still pending at the Appeal Court in Akure.
Yusuf Oketola is a trained journalist with over five years of experience in the media industry. He has worked for both print and online medium. He is a thorough-bred professional with an eye of hindsight on issues bothering on social justice, purposeful leadership, and a society where the leaders charge and work for the prosperity of the people.
