INEC violated constitution, conducted illegal by-elections – Buba Galadima

A chieftain of the New Nigerian Peoples Party, NNPP, Buba Galadima, has described as illegal the recently conducted by-elections in the country by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Galadima accused INEC of violating a section of the Constitution which stipulates that the commission is under obligation to conduct a by-election within three months whenever a vacancy occurs.

The NNPP chieftain stated this on Monday while fielding questions on Channels TV’s Politics Today programme.

Galadima noted that some of the vacancies where INEC conducted by-elections had exceeded three months, urging Nigerians to challenge them in court.

He said: “Well, the by-elections have come and gone, except it’s being trailed by so many issues, depending from which side of point you look at it.

“In the first place I want to make a very important issue out of these by-elections. In fact, all of them were conducted illegally by INEC.

“When a vacancy occurs, INEC is under obligation to conduct a by-election within three months.

“Some of the by-elections are being held two years after. For example, the ones in Kano, or at least one in Kano, it was an election that was declared inconclusive by the APC in 2023.

“So if the judiciary is upcoming, and if anybody goes to court to challenge those elections, they could be declared null and void because that is what the Constitution says, not even the Electoral Act.

“This is because when a vacancy occurs, INEC is under obligation to conduct by election within three months. Some of the by-elections are being held two years after.”

INEC violated constitution, conducted illegal by-elections – Buba Galadima