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| Fashola calls on INEC to create additional 229 wards in Lagos |
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| Thursday, 03 July 2008 | ||||||
     The Governor who spoke at an interactive session on delineation of constituency organized by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa added that the number was arrived at based on the last census figure which placed Lagos and Kano at above nine million people and with an approximate figure of 19,000 persons per ward. In his words: “Currently Kano has a total population of 9,382,682 with 484 wards and about 19,387 inhabitants in each ward while the provisional population figure of Lagos is 9,013,534 with 245 wards and 36,789 inhabitants also in each ward, thereby limiting the efficiency of representation”. He advised that electoral boundaries should not be drawn up in a manner that discriminates against any particular minority group, adding that dividing a geographically concentrated minority group among several electoral districts or wards so that the group constitutes a minority among several electoral districts or wards should be prohibited. He expressed the view that in a representative democracy such as we have in Nigeria now, a legislator representing 200 people is bound to be more effective than the one representing 1000 people. He added that “the base map used in determining enumeration areas in Lagos in the last census did not take cognizance of the newly emerged areas such as Ibeju Lekki, the Victoria Garden City, Femi Okunnu Estate, Oniru Estate, Lekki Phase 1&2 Estate and Abraham Adesanya Estate inspite of their growing demographic and development status, effective representation will remain elusive”. The Governor also called for transparency in the process of delimitation as much as possible through a publicizing of the methodology and guidelines that would be used in a clear and established manner in advance. The Governor averred that the Lagos Central Senatorial district that houses the economic and commercial institution in the state is fast growing with increase in number of businesses and investors who choose to live and work in Lagos. Electoral wards should be drawn up in such a way that wards are relatively equal in population and prevent a situation where a representative is elected from a ward that has as twice as many voters as another district, thus allowing the voters in the larger constituency to influence voters in the smaller district, Governor Fashola advised. The Governor said as a forward looking government the present administration would not hesitate to offer quality contributions to policies and programmes that have the capacity to further help in strengthening democratic values and institutions in the country. He enjoined the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other relevant institutions in the country to take the matter as a paramount issue of national concern, which must be addressed as promptly as possible. He said the ultimate decision rests with the National Assembly and irrespective of what state the honourable members of the National Assembly are representing they all have people in the schools and investments Lagos, therefore should be a matter of good conscience to show that they truly represent the people. Earlier, the INEC Chairman, Professor Maurice Iwu who was represented by a Federal Commissioner for INEC, Senator Farukanmi Olorunmbe said the essence of the exercise is to ensure that the structural framework for representative governance and true democracy exists in Nigeria. He said: “Lagos is unarguably in need of appropriate delimitation of constituencies within its territory to reflect fairness and realities on the ground. In terms of both the federal and state constituencies as well as polling units, Lagos cannot be said to be appropriately placed.” Continuing, Prof Iwu said: “The State can be said to be suppressed in terms of constituency distribution .The expectation from the present delimitation exercise is that it will address such cases of imbalance and distortion in the distribution of constituencies across the country”. He added that in the case of Lagos, the exercise will expectedly bring about an increase in the number of seats to reflect the requirement of the constitution, while there would also be likely redirecting of the Senate constituency too, to make them as near equal according to the desire of the constitution. Professor Iwu reiterated that apart from aiming to create additional Houses of Assembly seats as the relevant factors support, the Commission intends to work with the State electoral commissions to synchronize the INEC registration areas and polling units to establish electoral wards. He also disclosed that in the case of Federal Constituencies, the Commission is considering a proposal to increase the number to 420 from its present 360, saying the additional number may be recommended to be reserved for proportional representation for women. Professor Iwu promised that the Commission would not impose anything on Nigerians but has established an advisory committee to drive the project and then produce an electoral map for Nigeria He said after the stakeholders consultations, the committee will report back to the commission in mid- August 2008 before INEC holds a consultation with the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly. In his welcome address, State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr Moses Ogbe said the commission is touched by the commitment and encouragement given to the commission by Governor Babatunde Fashola in ensuring hitch free and successful interactive sessions. He added that the State Government has worked relentlessly to mobilize, create awareness and put every structure in place towards meaningful and rewarding interactive sessions despite the short notice. The three day stakeholders exercise was attended by a large number of traditional rulers, opinion leaders, interest groups, market men and women and several people with placards highlighting some of the anomalies which the present representation in Lagos depicts.  Quote this article on your site | Views: 184 | Print | E-mail
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