INEC Fixes Date To Present New National Assembly Members With ‘Certificates of Return’

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed that newly elected Senators and House of Representatives members will be issued their Certificates of Return at the International Conference Centre (ICC) Abuja on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Naija News reports that this was made known on Saturday by the INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, while speaking at a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in Abuja.

He stated that new members of the Red Chambers will get theirs certificate on Tuesday, while those at the Green Chambers will receive theirs on Wednesday this week.

Yakubu said that while the All Progressives Congress (APC) won 57 senatorial seats, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won 29, and the Labour Party got six, New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) got two each, just as All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and Young Progressive Party (YPP) got one seat each.

He said APC garnered 162 from the 360 seats in the House of Representatives , PDP got 102, LP, 34 seats, NNPP 18, APGA four, SPD and ADC got two each, while YPP won one seat.

“In last Saturday’s elections, winners have also been declared for 423 national legislative seats while supplementary elections will be held in 46 constituencies. In the Senate, 98 out of 109 seats have been declared,” Yakubu said.

“So far, seven political parties have won senatorial seats while in the House of Representatives, 325 out of 360 seats have been won by eight political parties.

“In terms of party representation, this is the most diverse National Assembly since 1999. Certificates of Return will be presented to Senators-elect on Tuesday March 7, 2023 at 11.00am at the National Collation Centre (the International Conference Centre), Abuja, while members of the House of Representatives-elect will receive theirs the following day, Wednesday March 8, 2023, at 11. (/) 00am at the same venue.

“However, for effective crowd management, each Senator/Member-elect should be accompanied by a maximum of two guests. The comprehensive list of all members-elect will be uploaded to the commission’s website.”