Reps Pass Bill Seeking to Carve a New Federal Constituency In Nasarawa for Second Reading
By Juliet Vincent
The House of Representatives has passed for Second Reading, a Bill seeking to carve out Nasarawa Eggon Federal Constituency from Akwanga/Nasarawa Eggon/Wamba Federal Constituency of Nasarawa State.
According to the Bill sponsor, Hon. Jeremiah Umaru, the Bill seeks to alter Section 73 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to carve out Nasarawa Eggon Federal Constituency from Akwanga/Nasarawa Eggon/Wamba Federal Constituency of Nasarawa State.
It was titled, “A Bill for an Act to alter the Provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to carve out Nasarawa Eggon Federal Constituency from Akwanga/Nasarawa Eggon/Wamba Federal Constituency and for Related Matters (HB.1316)”.
Presenting his lead debate, the lawmaker informed that, constituency delimitation is a critical part in a democracy which people shy away from adding that, delimiting constituencies was provided in various Nigerian Constitutions.
Hon. Umaru said, “Modern democracies are based essentially on indirect representation. Where the representation is not carried out constitutionally and equitably, injustice will be done to the affected group or persons.
“From the Richards Constitution of 1946 to the 1999 Constitution (as amended), provisions have been made for constituencies and their delimitation in Nigeria.
“Despite these ample provisions, the last constituency delimitation in Nigeria was carried in 1996 by the National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (NECOM) under the chairmanship of, Chief Sumner Dagogo Jack. This constituency delimitation was used for 1999,2003,2007,2011 and 2015 general elections,” he said.
According to him, the Constitution has expressly empowered the National Assembly and the Independent National Electoral Commission on the delimitation of constituencies a cross Nigeria, after a period of about 10 years as stipulated in Section 73(1) and 73(1) respectively.
He added, “It is also very important to note that the Nasarawa North Senatorial District has one Federal Constituency called Akwanga/Nasarawa Eggon/Wamba Federal Constituency, despite the huge population of those Local Government Areas”.
The House adopted the motion and passed the Bill for Second Reading after a voice vote by the Speaker, Abbas Tajuddeen.
