By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja
A fresh wave of agitation has hit Kogi State as a coalition of Concerned Citizens has formally challenged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to correct what they describe as decades of constitutional distortion in the structure of the Kogi State House of Assembly.
In a strongly worded petition submitted on Thursday at the INEC office in Lokoja, the group accused the Commission of allowing 11 State Constituencies to remain suppressed, leaving Kogi with a legislature that falls short of constitutional requirements.
The petition, referenced AY/LN/51/25 and signed by A.O. Jonathan, Esq., insists that Kogi’s current 25-member House is “not duly constituted” under Section 91 of the 1999 Constitution, which mandates that each state assembly must have between 27 and 36 seats, depending on the number of federal constituencies.
Kogi has nine federal constituencies, meaning—at minimum—27 assembly seats should exist. Instead, the petitioners say, the state has been running on an amputated legislative structure for years.
According to them, this irregularity dates back to the restructuring of constituencies in the early 1990s, which left one constituency in Kogi East, six in Kogi Central, and four in Kogi West effectively erased from the political map.
“The constitutional imbalance is glaring and harmful,” the petition reads. “Kogi State has operated below the minimum constitutional threshold for representation for too long, and this breach must be corrected before the next election.”
Beyond legality, the group argues that restoring the 11 suppressed constituencies would deal a major blow to political marginalisation, particularly in communities that have long felt shut out of the legislative process.
After submitting the letter, Barrister Ayokunle Jonathan told journalists that INEC had a binding obligation to act, saying the state assembly’s current composition violates both Sections 91 and 114.
Joining the call, Barrister Zacchaeus Dare Michael, Executive Chairman of Kabba/Bunu Local Government, condemned what he described as an entrenched denial of justice.
“Fairness and equity are the pillars of democracy. In Kogi, these pillars have been weakened by years of suppressed constituencies,” he said. “INEC must right this wrong now—before another election cycle entrenches the imbalance.”
With pressure building and public interest revived, INEC now faces mounting scrutiny over whether it will revisit the long-neglected constituency boundaries or allow the status quo to continue.