IN the bid to conclude all outstanding polls in the country, the Senate last Wednesday gave the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) up to December 10, 2016 to ensure that such elections in Rivers and other states are concluded. The Senate also vowed to suspend plenary sessions if INEC fails to conduct the remaining elections by the December 10 deadline. The resolution was the outcome of the adoption of a motion by the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu and the Senate Majority Leader, Ali Ndume.

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The motion condemned the spate of inconclusive elections across the country under Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu-led INEC. The Senate resolution came after the House of Representatives asked INEC to conclude all postponed rerun elections in the country, particularly in Rivers State.
The House had observed that Rivers State and other affected states have been denied adequate representation in the National Assembly. The motion by the House Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, was unanimously adopted. The non-representation and under-representation of Rivers people and others in the Senate, House of Representatives and State House of Assembly is a breach of Sections 14(2c), 48, 49 and 91, of the 1999 Constitution. These sections enjoin the participation of every part of the country in governance in the aforementioned Legislative Houses.
Following the intervention of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the electoral umpire has fixed new dates for rerun polls in Lagos State, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Rivers State. According to INEC Secretary, Mrs. Augusta Ogakwu, the House of Representatives election for Lagos and the FCT are fixed for December 3, 2016, while the National Assembly (Senate and the House of Representatives) and the State House of Assembly elections for Rivers State would hold on December 10, 2016.
INEC has blamed the threat of violence, especially in Rivers for the delay in concluding the polls. The spokesman of INEC chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi has explained that the volatile relationship of the two leading political parties in the state, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) had made it impossible for the commission to conduct the remaining polls.
Recently, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Rivers State, Elder Aniedi Ikoiwak said numerous court cases were hampering all efforts to conclude all postponed elections in the state. He, therefore, called on all politicians in the state to withdraw court cases against the rerun elections.
We commend the National Assembly for urging the electoral umpire to conclude all remaining elections in the country. The failure to conduct the remaining elections in Rivers State and other affected states in the country amounts to denial of the rights of the people to have representation at the National Assembly and State legislatures.
We also commend INEC for fixing new dates for all outstanding polls in the country and urge it to see that they are finally concluded. The new dates fixed for the rerun polls should remain sacrosanct. We say this because these polls have been unduly delayed and further postponements must not be accepted.
Nigerians will no longer entertain excuses on the part of the electoral umpire why these polls are inconclusive. Let INEC deploy all its manpower and resources to ensure the successful conclusion of these polls in the country. The Federal Government must ensure that adequate security is provided in the affected states to ensure that all the outstanding elections in the country are concluded as scheduled.
We call on all politicians in the affected states, especially Rivers, to eschew bitterness and violence and ensure that these polls are held under peaceful atmosphere. They should warn their supporters to avoid fomenting trouble during the rerun elections. Above all, let INEC ensure that the polls are free, fair and credible.