The Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly announced that it is exploring a resolution to establish more constituencies to help with the efficient representation of the people in the state’s legislature.
According to a statement released on Wednesday by the press office of the Speaker, Udeme Otong, the motion put forth during plenary on Tuesday by the member representing Ikono State Constituency, Asuquo Nana Udo, was in accordance with Order Three (3) Rule One (1) of the Standing Order of the Assembly.
The Ikono legislator believes that the motion, headed “The Need to Create Additional State Constituencies in Akwa Ibom State,” is overdue in order to secure the political growth of the state since its creation more than thirty (30) years ago.
The resolution added, “The creation of thirty-nine (39) new political wards across the three (3) Senatorial districts of the State by Akwa Ibom State Independent Electoral Commission (AKISIEC) has not only delimited our political wards but has also prepared us for national political expansion.”
According to Section 91 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN), which Udoh quoted, “the State Assemblies shall consist of three or four times the number of seats that that State has in the House of Representatives divided in a way to reflect, as far as possible, nearly equal population: Provided that a House of Assembly of a State shall consist of not less than twenty-four (24) and not more than forty (40) members.”
In support of his claim that the state deserves 31 State Constituencies, he cited the CFRN’s Sections 112, 113, and 114, subsection 1, citing Katstina State, which was established on the same day and in the same year as Akwa Ibom State and has 34 State Constituency seats.
Otobong Bob, a representative for Nsit Ubium State Constituency who also serves as the Deputy Leader of the 8th Assembly while commenting on the matter, pointed out that the Akwa Ibom State Caucus in the National Assembly ought to take up the issue there since it is a constitutional one and not within the purview of the State Legislature.
In accordance with a directive from the Speaker, Udeme Otong, the Clerk, Mrs. NsikakAbasi Orok, was to inform the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) and other pertinent government agencies of the House’s determination.
