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By Myke Agunwa
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Mahood Yakubu has condemned the practice of huge campaign and advert charges slammed on opposition parties by the Federal Government describing it as an infraction on the electoral act.
The Commission also fixed Saturday 16th August 2025, for bye-elections in 16 constituencies across 12 States involving a total of 3,553,659 registered voters spread across 32 Local Government Areas, 356 Wards and 6,987 Polling Units.
While condemning the practice, the INEC boss, during an interaction with leaders of political parties on Thursday at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Thursday, reminded political parties that all forms of campaign must end 24hours before each election.
“I wish to draw attention to the perennial complaint by especially opposition parties about the denial of access to public facilities for electioneering activities. These include the state media, public buildings for meetings and open spaces for rallies and processions. In some cases, prohibitive amounts are charged for outdoor advertising. These actions are a violation of the Electoral Act 2022 which prohibits the use of incumbency to the advantage or disadvantage of any Political Party or candidate. Going forward, the Commission will work with the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) and intensify our collaboration with the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) for a possible legal action in the face of prima facie evidence of the violation of the law”.
He reminded party leaders that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections primaries will end on Monday 30th June 2025 and urged them to tidy up their documentation and upload the list of candidates to the dedicated portal from 21st July to 11th August 2025.
“I wish to remind you that the portal will automatically shut down at 6.00pm on 11th August 2025. I urge you to adhere strictly to the procedure and timelines for candidate nomination, particularly considering the legal requirement for the Commission to publish the personal particulars of candidates in the various constituencies for claims and objections by citizens within one week from the deadline for submission of nominations,” Yakubu emphasized.
On the forthcoming Anambra State Governorship election, the commission said that it has already published the final list of 16 candidates and their running mates for the election.
“Campaign in public by political parties commenced two weeks ago on 11th June 2025 and will continue until midnight of Thursday 6th November 2025 i.e. 24 hours prior to Election Day. During this period, we expect Political Parties to adhere to our Regulations and Guidelines for meetings, rallies and processions already available on our website. However, considering the importance of the matter to the forthcoming elections, hard copies of the document are included in your folders for this meeting”.
Throwing more light on the details of bye-election schedule he continued,
“In the last two years since the inauguration of the National and State Assemblies in June 2023, vacancies requiring bye-elections have occurred nationwide. You may recall that in February last year, the Commission conducted nine bye-elections to fill vacancies resulting from the death or resignation of members of the National and State Houses of Assembly. Since then, more vacancies have been declared across the country. The outstanding bye-elections involve two Senatorial Districts ̶ Anambra South and Edo Central; five Federal Constituencies ̶ Ovia South West/Ovia South East in Edo State, Babura/Garki in Jigawa State, Chikun/Kajuru in Kaduna State, Ikenne/Shagamu/Remo North in Ogun State and Ibadan North in Oyo State; as well as nine State constituencies ̶ Ganye in Adamawa State, Onitsha North I in Anambra State, Dekina/Okura in Kogi State, Zaria Kewaye and Basawa in Kaduna State, Bagwai/Shanono in Kano State, Mariga in Niger State, Karim Lamido I in Taraba State and Kauran Namoda South in Zamfara State).
“Consequently, Commission has fixed Saturday 16th August 2025 for bye-elections in 16 constituencies across 12 States of the country involving a total of 3,553,659 registered voters spread across 32 Local Government Areas, 356 Wards and 6,987 Polling Units. The Commission will deploy 30,451 officials. However, in spite of the declaration of vacancies, bye-elections will not hold in two State constituencies for the time being. These are Khana II State Constituency in Rivers State as a result of the current state of emergency and Talata Mafara South State Constituency in Zamfara State following a legal challenge to the declaration of the seat vacant by the State Assembly.
“Unlike the General Election or Off-cycle Governorship elections, there is a tight timeframe for the conduct of bye-elections. Party primaries will be held between 17th and 21st July 2025 while the online portal for submission of nomination forms will open at 9.00am on 22nd July and end at 6.00pm on 26th July 2025. Campaign in public will commence on 2nd August 2025 and end at midnight on 14th August 2025 i.e. 24 hours before Election Day. The hardcopies of the detailed Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the bye-elections, including delimitation details of the 16 constituencies and their locations on the map of Nigeria are included in your folders for this meeting. The same information will be uploaded to our website and other platforms for public information shortly.
“In addition to the bye-elections, the Commission will also conduct the two outstanding Court-ordered re-run elections in Enugu South I State Constituency of Enugu State and the Ghari/Tsanyawa State Constituency in Kano State. These elections were severally disrupted by thuggery and violence. They will now be combined with the bye-elections upon assurances from the security agencies to adequately secure the process. The two elections will be held along with the bye-elections on Saturday 16th August 2025”.
He said that Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) will commence in Anambra state in the 326 Wards across the State on 8th July 2025 and end on 17th July 2025 from 9.00am to 3.00pm daily, including the weekend while nationwide online pre-registration will start on 18th August 2025 while the in-person registration will follow on 25th August 2025.
The exercise, he said, will be held simultaneously in all our 37 State and FCT offices as well as our 774 Local Government offices nationwide.
In his remarks, Chairman of Interparty Advisory Council (IPAC) Alhaji Yusuf Dantalle reminded the commission the voter apathy is on the increase.
“While there is improvement in the conduct of recent elections, voter turnout remains very low, indicating lack of trust in the electoral governance. It could be fear that their votes might not count, fear of violence, and lack of confidence in the candidates contesting for their offices, who might not fulfill their election promises to the people. This is unacceptable and must be addressed immediately. Active citizens’ participation in the political process is essential for the sustainable democracy and development.
“We must uphold the sanctity of the ballotbox and respect the will of the people as expressed therein.
“The Anambra governship election provides yet another opportunity for INEC to demonstrate its capacity to conduct credible elections, leveraging on effective applications of its new technologies through centralised artificial intelligence, that will enhance decision-making through data-driven insights, risk management, voter engagement, predictive analytics, automation and intelligence systems. This will strengthen electoral credibility and integrity, as well as prevent issues that could erode confidence in elections” he said.
The IPAC chairman further said that political parties should consider the use of AI for membership drive.