Youth groups from Kogi East Senatorial District on Wednesday protested at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja over the alleged exclusion of the district from the ongoing exercise to create additional electoral wards in Kogi State.
The protesters, under the aegis of the Coalition of Kogi East Youths Associations, accused the electoral commission of failing to give the district equitable consideration in the proposed ward expansion, despite what they described as its significant population and voter strength.
They alleged that while Kogi West and Kogi Central were being considered in the exercise, Kogi East had been left out.
Addressing journalists and an INEC representative during the protest, leader of the coalition, Isaiah Davies Ijele, appealed to the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, to intervene and ensure fairness in the process.
Ijele said the group was protesting what it considered an unfair distribution of additional wards across the state.
He argued that available demographic data should be taken into consideration in determining the allocation of new wards.
According to him, the 2006 national population census, which remains Nigeria’s most recent official census, put Kogi East’s population at about 1.3 million out of the state’s approximately 3.4 million people at the time.
“Since the last census conducted in 2006, there hasn’t been another exercise. Kogi East produced 1.3 million persons out of the 3.4 million produced by the state,” he said.
The youth leader also claimed that Kogi East had consistently recorded a significant share of votes during general elections, arguing that population and voter distribution should form part of the considerations for the creation of additional wards.
Another member of the coalition, Apostle Gideon Isah, commended the INEC Chairman for what he described as the commission’s conduct of the recent governorship election in Osun State.
He, however, urged the INEC chairman to ensure that the ward creation process in Kogi was not influenced by political interests.
“The INEC Chairman should make sure injustice doesn’t stand under his watch. We applauded him for the last election in Osun; he shouldn’t spoil that record,” Isah said.
He added: “Kogi East is too large to be overlooked; Kogi East is too big to be undermined. We are here in our numbers to tell the INEC Chairman and everyone at this headquarters that we deserve fair consideration.”
The protesters submitted a formal letter to INEC containing three major demands.
They called for the suspension of any ward creation exercise that excludes Kogi East, public disclosure of the criteria, data and constitutional provisions guiding the proposed creation of additional wards, and a transparent review of the exercise to ensure equitable consideration of the district.
The coalition said such a review should take into account population, voter distribution and geographical considerations.
The delegation was received by the commission’s Director of Security, Indidi Okafor, in the absence of the INEC Chairman, who was reportedly out of the country.
Okafor acknowledged the concerns raised by the protesters and commended them for conducting the demonstration peacefully.
“We thank you so much for coming over here to express your anger in a law-abiding manner. The commission has heard you and we promise to convey your message to the Chairman once he arrives,” she said.
The commission formally acknowledged receipt of the protesters’ letter and handed a copy of the acknowledgement to the delegation’s leaders.
The protesters subsequently dispersed peacefully, expressing optimism that INEC would review their concerns and ensure a fair process in the proposed ward creation exercise.
