Port Harcourt, Rivers State – The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Rivers State Office, has firmly refuted a viral media report alleging that the commission refused to accept the resignation of Edison Ehie as the member representing Ahoada East State Constituency II in the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The commission’s reaction follows reports that quoted the Rivers Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Professor Gabriel Yomere, as suggesting that Ehie—who resigned during the recent political crisis to assume the role of Chief of Staff to Governor Siminalayi Fubara—still retained his legislative seat.
Clarifying the Misconstrued Statement
In a statement signed by Geraldine Ekelemu, the Acting Head of Department for Voter Education and Publicity, for the REC, INEC clarified that the REC’s comments, made during a meeting with the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), were his “opinion and perception” and were mistakenly “misconstrued as a Policy statement from the Commission.”
The statement emphasized that the REC was transparent in stating that the decision regarding the organization of any bye-election lies solely with the Commission’s Headquarters.
The Constitutional Mandate
INEC stressed that its role in declaring a legislative seat vacant is strictly procedural and conditional, not adjudicatory.
“Any claim that INEC ‘did not accept’ the resignation of the member representing Ahoada-East State Constituency II is factually incorrect and legally unfounded,” the statement read.
The commission detailed its constitutional mandate:
- Formal Notice is Key: The decision to conduct a bye-election is conditioned only on INEC’s receipt of a formal notice from the appropriate authorities recognized by the Constitution, stating that any legislative seat has become vacant.
- Non-Adjudicatory Role: INEC cannot, on its own, declare, recognize, or determine when any legislative seat has become vacant, nor does it adjudicate on the validity of a declaration of vacancy.
The commission clarified that once the declaration of vacancy has been signed and transmitted by the authorized legislative authority—in this case, the Rivers State House of Assembly—INEC will then commence the necessary processes to conduct a bye-election in line with constitutional provisions and the Electoral Act.
The clarification effectively places the responsibility for formalizing the vacancy back with the state legislature, confirming that INEC’s involvement in the electoral process can only begin after it receives official notification.
