INEC to create more constituencies

The Independent National Electoral Commission has said that it is set to revisit its earlier suspended plan of delimitation of constituencies in the country.
The acting Chairman of the commission, Amina Zakari, made this known in Abuja on Wednesday when the newly-appointed Surveyor General of the Federation, Mr. Ebisintei Awudu, led a delegation to the commission.

She noted that the commission had before the general elections commenced the process of delimitation of constituency but the exercise was put on hold due to the high level of controversy generated by the project at that time.
The INEC acting chairman said, "Now that the elections are over, we have to dust our Memorandum of Understanding and process the agreement to commence the delimitation."
She explained that apart from the Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation, the commission had also signed partnership agreements with sister agencies, such as the Nigerian Postal Service, the National Air Space Research and
Development Agency, the National Population Commission and others for collaboration on the project.
Zakari informed the new SGOF that the commission had already signed an MoU with OSGOF, not only for the provision of maps but for technical support.
Earlier, Awudu had explained that the purpose of his visit was to dust the earlier MoU INEC and his office had signed and to discuss other issues of mutual interest relating to surveying and mapping.
He added that his team was in the commission to discuss what the OSGOF could do to support in areas of constituency delimitation and any possible support for the conduct of Kogi and Bayelsa states' governorship elections.
The Surveyor-General of the Federation pledged to support the commission with 2.5M Satellite Imagery Map of the whole country, settlement data, training, technical and other logistics support, adding that, "We pledge participation in the delimitation since we are in the committee."
It will be recalled that the former Chairman of the commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, created 30, 000 new constituencies before the 2015 general elections.
However, public outcry especially from the southern part of the country and from members of the Peoples Democratic Party, forced Jega to jettison the action.
Those against Jega's action accused him of favouring states from the northern part of the country in the exercise.