President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has officially declared three senatorial seats vacant following the death of members of the 10th Senate.
The affected seats are Enugu North, Nasarawa North, and Rivers South East, previously represented by late Senators Okechukwu Ezea, Godiya Akwaashiki, and Barinada Mpigi.
Speaking during plenary, Akpabio said the development necessitates fresh elections, directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct by-elections within the constitutionally approved timeframe.
“These unfortunate events necessitate the conduct of midterm elections… INEC is hereby mandated to fill the vacancies within approximately 30 days,” he stated, while praying for the repose of the deceased lawmakers.
Meanwhile, the Senate also confirmed Magnus Abe as Chairman of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
Also confirmed as non-executive commissioners were Paul Yaro Jezhi and Sunday Adebayo Babalola, following the presentation of a report by the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), chaired by Jonah Eteng.
The nominations were earlier forwarded to the Senate by Bola Tinubu.