The Edo House of Assembly on Monday passed a resolution calling on Independent National Electoral Commission to review the number of constituencies in the assembly from current 24.
The lawmakers also urged the commission to increase the number of polling units and wards in the state.
The resolution was sequel to a motion urging INEC to review the composition of the assembly as provided in the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and create polling units, and delineate political wards.
The motion which was moved by Nosayaba Okunbor was co-sponsored by16 other lawmakers. It was seconded by the Majority Leader, Roland Asoro.
Leading debate on the motion, Okunbor said the 1999 Constitution provided in part 2A, section 91,112 and 114 for the composition of the state’s house of assembly.
He said that the sections stated that subject to the provisions of the Constitution, house of assembly of a state shall consist of three or four times the number of seats the state has in the House of Representatives.
He said: “It shall be divided in a way to reflect, as far as possible, nearly equal population, provided that a house of assembly of a state shall consist of not less than 24 and not more than 40 members.”
Okunbor stated that the state currently had nine seats in the House of Representatives from its three senatorial districts.
He explained that the assembly was currently composed of 24 members and that it had not met the constitutional provisions of sections 91,112 and 114.
Okunbor said: “By the interpretation of these sections, the composition of the assembly should have been a minimum of 27 and not 24 as presently constituted.
“Some polling units in Edo have registered voters well over 2, 000 which is over populated thereby creating tension in our polling centres during elections.
“The 192 wards that we are operating today in the state were inherited from the military arrangement in planning our political structure for the country in 1999.”
Okunbor also called on the INEC to as a matter of urgency put machinery in motion toward the delineation of political wards so as to create room for expansion and development.
Other lawmakers unanimously supported the motion and stressed that INEC should immediately take steps to review the number of polling units as demanded by the population in various polling centres in the state.
In his remarks, the Speaker, Kabiru Adjoto, directed that clean copies of the resolution be sent to the governor, the chairman of INEC and other relevant authorities.
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