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The former Ebonyi State chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Silas Onu, has urged the Senate President, Godswill Apkabio, to officially declare the Ebonyi South seat vacant.
Onu, a lawyer, made this call in a letter signed and made available to newsmen in Abakaliki, the capital of Ebonyi State.
He said the declaration of the seat vacant would enable the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to conduct a fresh election.
“This letter is pursuant to Section 147 (4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), which provides thus:
“Where a member of the National Assembly or a House of Assembly is appointed as Minister of the Government of the Federation, he shall be deemed to have resigned his membership of the National Assembly or of the House of Assembly on his taking the oath of office as minister.
“The above provision is reinforced by Section 68 (1) (d) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended),” he wrote.
He noted that since Senator Umahi, who represented Ebonyi South in the 10th Senate, took the oath of office as Minister of the Federation on August 21, 2023, the Ebonyi South Senate seat has become vacant.
He further stated that it behoves Akpabio to give effect to this vacancy by communicating the vacancy to INEC, who in turn shall cause a bye-election to be held within 90 days as required by law.
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