Nigeria’s election umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has officially declared the Cross River Northern Senatorial District seat vacant following the demise of Rose Oko, who represented the district in Nigeria’s Senate.
Festus Okoye, National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, INEC, who made the declaration on the umpire’s behalf, May 21, 2020, further informed that the Commission plans to conduct a nine-day bye-election across seven states of the federation, with CR Northern Senatorial District prominently mentioned. Okoye however did not include a date for the election proper.
Meanwhile, among the litany of persons eyeing the seat, uneasy calm continues to envelope their camps as the intricate processes leading up to the election proper continues to heighten tensions.
Martina Odom, Stephen Odey, Joe Agi, Ogana Lukpata, appear to be the frontline contenders for the PDP’s nomination while Zana Akpagu and Wabily Nyiam, are the APC’s top runners, so far.
