ABUJA — A chieftain of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), Buba Galadima, has faulted the recently conducted by-elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), describing them as unconstitutional and therefore illegal.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, Galadima accused INEC of flouting the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, which mandate that a by-election must be conducted within three months of a declared vacancy.
“In fact, all of them were conducted illegally by INEC,” Galadima said. “When a vacancy occurs, INEC is under obligation to conduct a by-election within three months. Some of these elections were held almost two years after.”
Citing an example, the NNPP stalwart pointed to one of the by-elections in Kano, which stemmed from an inconclusive contest declared in 2023.
He insisted that such delays render the exercise null and void if challenged in court.
“If the judiciary is upright, and anybody challenges those elections, they could be declared null and void because that is what the Constitution says — not even the Electoral Act,” Galadima stressed.
He urged Nigerians and political parties to take legal action, arguing that INEC had failed in its constitutional duty by holding delayed by-elections that undermine democratic standards.
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