The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday declared three senatorial seats vacant following the deaths of some members.

The vacancies affect Enugu North Senatorial District, Nasarawa North Senatorial District, and Rivers South-East Senatorial District.

Senator Akpabio made the announcement during plenary, noting that the development was necessitated by the demise of the affected lawmakers, in line with constitutional provisions.

“Due to the tragedies that have befallen the 10th Senate, vacancies have been created for midterm elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that we fill the seats left vacant by the demise of our colleagues,” he said.

Senator Akpabio subsequently directed the INEC to conduct by-elections to fill the vacancies within the timeframe stipulated by law.

“In line with the provisions of our Constitution, the Independent National Electoral Commission is accordingly mandated to conduct fresh polls to fill these vacant senatorial seats in the affected states within the time specified in the Constitution, which is about 30 days from this declaration,” he added.