Reps officially declare seats of deceased colleagues vacant

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Abbas Tajudeen, formally announced the vacancy of two legislative seats on Wednesday.

The seats became vacant due to the unfortunate deaths of two representative members within the past week.

In announcing the vacant seat during the plenary session, Abbas explained that his declaration was made in accordance with the constitutional requirement.

Section 68(2) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, outlines the requirement and governs the process for declaring seats vacant upon the death of a member.

The two deceased lawmakers were Rep. Olaide Akinremi, who previously represented the Ibadan North constituency, and Rep. Ekene Abubakar Adams, who represented the Chikun/Kajuru federal constituency in Kaduna state until their passing.

The Speaker’s declaration has formally triggered the process for filling the two vacant seats, and the race to succeed the late lawmakers has officially begun.