Ondo Fed constituency election taking too long, lawmaker tells INEC 

0
42

By Temitope Adedeji Akure

Hon Sunday Olajide of the Ondo State House of Assembly has charged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to fix the date for the conduct of bye election to fill the vacant Akure South/North federal constituency.

Olajide expressed his worried on Tuesday in Akure, the state capital, where he asked the INEC to fix a date for the election.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, had declared the Akure South/North federal constituency seat vacant following the death of former occupier, Adedayo Omolafe, who died earlier this year.

Olajide, who represents Akure Constituency II in the Ondo State House of Assembly, said the electoral umpire must set in motion the process of filling the vacant seat so that the people of the two local governments would not be shortchanged in the scheme of things at the National level.

Speaking with reporters about his interest in vying for the vacant seat, Olajide, who is the Chairman House Committee on Appropriation, said the Akure people would be marginalised if the seat is not filled within the shortest period of time by the INEC.

His words: “The major preoccupation of a legislative member is to participate in law making, in the process, does oversight functions and try to be the the eyes, the ears and the mind of his people in the national assembly. As of today, the Akure South/North Federal constituency, do not have representative and this will affect so many things.

“We don’t have anybody championing our course presently and come to think of it, it is at a time that the budget is going on and by the virtue of my own experience as a lawmaker and Chairman, Finance and Appropriations I know the importance of budget that it is a time where you plan and prepare for what will happen in the next fiscal year. That is to say, which project will go to which place will be determined now.

“Our representative at a time like this will be the one to champion our course to make sure that projects that will benefit people of Ondo State are injected into the budget but unfortunately, we don’t have such person now.

“We know the importance of budget, we know how it can be used to benefit the people and our presence at this point will be used to champion the course of our people. My advice to the electoral body is to make a pronouncement for a by-election for the vacant seat of Akure South/North federal constituency for election to be conducted, so that we would not be cheated and short change in the process.”

He appealed to the INEC to fix date for the election so that the elected representative of the people would have input into the budget process going on at the national level.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here