INEC Restores Four More Suppressed Assembly Seats in Delta, Kogi

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has restored four previously suppressed State House of Assembly constituencies in Delta and Kogi states, following court judgments directing their reinstatement ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The commission announced on Friday that the restored constituencies were Abraka, Isoko North II and Ughelli South II in Delta State, and Yagba West II in Kogi State.

The latest development brings additional constituencies back into Nigeria’s electoral map after years of legal and political agitation over the suppression of several seats.

In a statement signed by the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, INEC said the restoration was pursuant to judgments of the courts directing the commission to reinstate the affected constituencies.

The commission has fixed August 21 to 25, 2026 for political parties to conduct primaries for candidates seeking to contest the restored seats.

Elections into the constituencies have been scheduled for September 19, alongside bye-elections into other recently vacant seats, including Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency in Gombe State, Disina and Sakwa State Constituencies in Bauchi, Udu State Constituency in Delta and Dawakin Kudu State Constituency in Kano.

“Political parties are requested to submit notices of their various primaries to the commission before their scheduled dates,” Haruna said.

The commission added that all other timelines and activities contained in its already published revised timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 general election would apply to the restored constituencies.

The latest restoration is part of a wider process through which INEC has been implementing court orders concerning constituencies that were suppressed during previous delimitation exercises.

Several of the affected constituencies were created before the 1999 return to democratic rule but were subsequently merged or omitted from electoral arrangements.

In Delta, the legal battle over suppressed constituencies dates back more than a decade. A Federal High Court sitting in Warri in 2014 ordered INEC to restore, among others, Ughelli South I and Isoko North I, after finding that their suppression had unlawfully denied residents adequate representation.

The case involving Ughelli South subsequently reached the Supreme Court. In 2017, the apex court affirmed the earlier decisions directing INEC to restore the suppressed Ughelli South constituency.

Similarly, the Court of Appeal had previously ruled that INEC lacked the power to suppress the Aniocha North II State Constituency, declaring that the Delta State House of Assembly, as then constituted with 29 members, was not properly constituted under the relevant constitutional provisions.

INEC began a fresh and more extensive restoration exercise in 2026. On June 10, the commission announced the restoration of 22 previously suppressed State Assembly constituencies across Delta, Benue, Jigawa and Kogi states, following court judgments.

The June exercise, however, did not include some constituencies whose restoration had also been the subject of earlier court battles, prompting renewed calls for INEC to implement outstanding judgments.

The latest announcement addresses four more of those constituencies, including Ughelli South II and Isoko North II in Delta.

Stakeholders in Isoko North had, in recent months, renewed calls for the restoration of the constituency, arguing that its suppression had left the local government with fewer representatives than it previously had.

With Friday’s announcement, INEC said the affected constituencies would now be integrated into the electoral process, beginning with party primaries later this month.

The commission reiterated its commitment to ensuring credible, inclusive and transparent electoral processes, while political parties are expected to comply with the new timetable and formally notify INEC of their primary election dates.

The restoration also means that candidates elected in the affected constituencies will have separate mandates to represent the communities that had previously been merged into other State Assembly constituencies.