Senate President Godswill Akpabio has officially declared the seats of Senator Dave Umahi of Ebonyi South Senatorial District and Ibrahim Geidam of Yobe East Senatorial District as vacant, following their recent appointments as ministers.
Consequently, the Senate has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to promptly conduct by-elections to fill these vacant seats.
Both Umahi and Geidam were sworn in as members of the 10th National Assembly in June but resigned in August after they were appointed as ministers in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet. Umahi currently serves as the Minister of Works, while Geidam is the Minister of Police Affairs.
In a different scenario, Simon Lalong, the former Labour Minister and ex-governor of Plateau State, recently resigned from his ministerial position to return to the Senate. A court ruling affirmed him as the Senator for Plateau South.
Meanwhile, INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu announced on Monday the possibility of conducting re-run and bye-elections nationwide in February 2024. He expressed the Commission’s commitment to filling vacancies in both National and State Assembly constituencies during this time frame, aiming for the first week of February for these electoral processes.
