By Muhammad Tanko
A Veteran journalist and public affairs analyst, Mr. Ahmed Tukur, has called for the creation of three additional federal constituencies in Nasarawa State to enhance equitable representation and good governance.
He made the call on Monday while speaking to journalists in Lafia, the state capital.
Talking about the desire for electoral reform, he said it is one of the thematic areas for consideration in the ongoing public hearing by the National Assembly.
He said the National Assembly should consider the creation of new constituencies in Karu, Nasarawa Eggon, and Lafia.
According to him, the move would address issues of fairness in resource distribution, given the rapidly growing population in the areas.
“Karu alone has over three million people, while Lafia has more than 1.5 million and is experiencing massive development. Nasarawa Eggon is also densely populated and deserves adequate representation,” he said.
Mr. Tukur further proposed increasing Nasarawa’s federal constituencies from the current five to eight, stressing that Section 71 and 72 of the Nigerian Constitution allow for constituency review, delimitation and delineation.
“Section 73 (1) also stipulates that such exercise shall be done in every ten years. He noted that Nasarawa is overdue for such consideration.
“Karu has practically become a suburb of Abuja, hosting most of the capital’s low-income earners. Its population growth justifies a separate constituency,” he added.
He said currently, the state has five House of Representatives seats spread across its senatorial zones.
Tukur explained that Karu, Keffi, and Kokona share one seat, while Nasarawa and Toto share another, stressing that this imbalance fails to reflect the population realities on the ground.
He urged citizens to support the call, noting that Nasarawa’s population is now comparable to that of the entire South-East region, with Lafia emerging as a central hub in North Central Nigeria.
