Ben Ndu
A Legal Practitioner, Gideon Agbo, Esq. has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to immediately commence preparations for the conduct of bye election in Enugu North Senatorial district of Enugu State.
Agbo made the call in a World press conference held in Enugu, adding that the time was running out on the commission to perform it’s constitutional responsibility.
It would be recalled that Senator Okey Ezea, who represented the zone died in November 2025, and was subsequently committed to mother earth on February 13, 2026.
He said that the press conference became necessary in order to awaken the political consciousness of the district, “devoid of emotions, sentiments or primordial instincts or party affiliations.”
“I want to remind the people of the district, popularly known as “Nsukka zone”, that we are no longer controlled by chains as it was done during the slave trade era.
“Today, we are controlled by plethora of narratives, political shenanigans and machinations, too numerous to mention here.
“Therefore, we must be at alert because oppression does not always come with chains, sometimes it comes with comfort, ” he said.
According to Agbo, when people become comfortable inside injustice, they stop demanding for change and that comfort becomes their cage.
“Every generation like ours now must decide what we are willing to sacrifice.
“Progress is never free; comfort demands nothing but liberation will always demand for discipline, struggle and personal cost.
“Toleration is the graveyard of good leaders, as being included in a system that exploits us, is not progress, ” he said.
Agbo disclosed that he had filed a suit at the Federal High Court Abuja, against INEC to compel the commission to begin preparation for bye election without further delay.
“This is part of my own sacrifice toward our political and socio-economic development and emancipation of our people.
“I address this world press conference today to respectfully call on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to urgently discharge its constitutional duty by fixing and conducting a senatorial bye election to fill the existing vacancy in the Enugu north senatorial district, ” he said.
He said that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), particularly Section 76, imposes a clear constitutional obligation on INEC to conduct an election whenever a vacancy occurs in the Senate.
“The language of the Constitution is mandatory and leaves no room for avoidable delay where a constituency has become deprived of representation in the National Assembly.
“The present vacancy has become a matter of public knowledge and constitutional reality.
“Once vacancy occurs, whether by death, resignation, or any other constitutionally recognised circumstance, the duty to restore representation becomes immediate in order to preserve democratic participation and legislative inclusion of the affected people, ” he said.
Agbo added that the continued absence of representation for the people of the Enugu North senatorial district undermined democratic governance, “weakens legislative participation, and deprives citizens of their constitutional voice in national decision-making. “
The legal practitioner, said that representation in the senate was not a privilege; but a constitutional right belonging to the people.
“I, therefore, respectfully submit that no administrative delay, procedural hesitation, or institutional silence should be allowed to frustrate the constitutional mandate already imposed upon INEC.
“The constitutional duty to conduct a bye election arises once vacancy exists, and not only when administrative correspondence is exchanged between institutions, ” he said.
He cited the Supreme Court of Nigeria in Hon. Ifedayo Sunday Abegunde v. Ondo State House of Assembly, which made it clear that, constitutional vacancy takes effect automatically once the enabling constitutional facts occur.
“Consequently, electoral replacement should follow within constitutionally reasonable time.
“I am calling on INEC, in the interest of constitutionalism, democratic justice, and public confidence, to immediately publish the timetable for the senatorial bye election and commence all necessary electoral processes without further delay.
“I equally call on all political stakeholders, civil society groups, traditional institutions, youth bodies, and democratic actors within the senatorial district to support this lawful and peaceful constitutional compliance.
“The people deserve representation; the Constitution demands action; democracy requires no less, ” Agbo said.
