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Tag: INEC

  • Anambra APC Primary: Ozigbo sues Ukachukwu, INEC

    Anambra APC Primary: Ozigbo sues Ukachukwu, INEC

    Valentine Ozigbo, a governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State, has filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Awka challenging the validity of the party’s primary election held on April 5, 2025.

    Ozigbo, who contested but did not emerge as the party’s flagbearer, is asking the court to nullify the nomination of Mr. Nicholas Ukachukwu, the declared winner of the primary, and compel the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognize him as the legitimate candidate for the November 8 gubernatorial election.

    The suit, filed through his legal team led by Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) Umeh Kalu and B.C. Igwilo, includes party documentation, internal communications, and delegate lists which Ozigbo argues support his claim.

    The originating summons calls on the court to determine whether the conduct of the primary election complied with APC’s constitution and established procedures. Ozigbo alleges irregularities in the delegate selection process and claims the exercise did not reflect the will of legitimate party members.

    In a statement issued after the filing, Ozigbo said his legal action was driven by a desire to uphold democratic principles within the party. “This is not a personal pursuit but a stand for justice, transparency, and the future of our party and state,” he stated.

    He described the conduct of the primary as lacking in transparency and organization, alleging that accredited party members were excluded, while the delegate list used contained unfamiliar names. He also questioned Ukachukwu’s eligibility to contest under the party’s platform, citing internal party rules.

    Ozigbo added that his intention is not to create division within the APC, but to strengthen it through adherence to democratic standards. “Our aim is to restore credibility and ensure the party remains a vehicle for responsible leadership,” he said.

    The court has not yet fixed a date for the hearing.

  • Edo APC chairman tasks INEC on legislative bye-elections

    Edo APC chairman tasks INEC on legislative bye-elections

    BENIN CITY – The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, Jarret Tenebe, has issued an ultimatum to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), demanding the immediate conduct of bye-elections to fill two vacant legislative seats in the state.

    In a statement issued in Benin City, Tenebe condemned what he described as the “unjustifiable delay” in conducting the elections, warning that constituents in the affected areas have been left without representation for over three months.

    “The people of Edo Central Senatorial District and Ovia North East/South West Federal Constituency have been without proper representation for three months now. This is against the spirit and letters of our constitution and democratic norms,” he said.

    The vacancies arose following the resignation of Senator Monday Okpebholo, who stepped down from the Edo Central Senatorial seat to contest in the governorship election, and Honourable Dennis Idahosa, who vacated his position as the representative of Ovia North East/South West Federal Constituency.

    Tenebe urged INEC to act swiftly, suggesting that if the Commission is financially incapable of organizing the bye-elections, it should consider transferring the responsibility to the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission (EDSIEC).

    “If INEC is financially incapacitated or lacks the will to conduct these elections, then they should cede the responsibility to the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission (EDSIEC). The people cannot continue to be denied their right to representation,” he said.

    He further stressed that the continued delay not only disenfranchises the constituents but also undermines the democratic process.

    “This inaction sends a wrong message. It undermines the very essence of democracy, which thrives on representation and participation,” Tenebe added.

  • INEC plans for 2027 polls

    INEC plans for 2027 polls

    The Independent National Electoral Commission has embarked on the formulation of its Election Project Plan in preparation for the 2027 general election.

    A top official in the commission disclosed this to Saturday PUNCH.

    The official stated that lessons learned from the 2023 general election were being applied to the planning for 2027.

    He disclosed that the commission was already updating its election templates for the upcoming election cycle, to improve the efficiency and reliability of its processes.

    The official said, “The formulation also includes the production of the 2027 – 2031 Strategic Plan to replace the current 2022 – 2026 Strategic Plan, which ends in December next year.

    “An important aspect of the current effort is the preparation of another critical document that will act as a bridge between 2026 and 2027 – the general election year – which the current 2022- 2026 plan does not cover.  This particular document will provide the foundation for the 2027 EPP document.

    “While the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan prioritized the institutionalization of the commission’s processes for the delivery of its mandate, focusing on capacity building, promotion of professionalism, encouraging synergy among departments and improving efficient mobilization and utilization of resources among others over a four-year cycle, the EPP is a comprehensive document that focuses solely on a general election.”

    Findings by Saturday TodayPriceNG revealed that the EPP was first produced for the 2015 general election. Since then, EPPs have been produced for subsequent 2019 and 2023 general elections.

    Following the challenges faced during the 2023 general election, INEC is refining its processes to ensure smoother operations in future polls.

    According to reports, the commission faced a few logistical and technical hurdles during the 2023 general election while managing a voter base of 93,469,008 registered voters across 176,846 polling units.

    The election saw the deployment of over 1.5 million personnel, including polling staff, supervisors, and security personnel, along with 182,491 vehicles to facilitate the voting process across Nigeria’s diverse terrains.

    Reports indicated that despite the extensive preparations, one of the significant issues during the 2023 election was the difficulty in uploading presidential election results to the INEC Result Viewing portal.

    While the system successfully managed uploads for the National Assembly elections, the presidential election results faced delays due to technical glitches.

    The root cause of the issue was traced to a configuration problem that prevented the system from properly mapping the presidential results, which are countrywide, as opposed to state-specific elections.

    The commission later addressed the issue with software updates, and the first presidential election result sheet was successfully uploaded later in the evening on the election day.

  • Court orders INEC to recognise Njoku as NRM’s National Chairman

    Court orders INEC to recognise Njoku as NRM’s National Chairman

    ABUJA–The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to recognise Chief Edozie Njoku as Chairman of the National Rescue Movement, NRM.

    The court, in a judgement that was delivered by Justice Obiora Egwuatu, validated the outcome of an emergency national convention that the party held in Abuja on January 17.

    The judgment was on a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/45/2025, which the NRM instituted against INEC.

    The party told the court that the emergency convention that produced Chief Njoku, was held to fill vacant positions in its National Executive Committee, NEC, and to balance the lopsided leadership structure in the party.

    However, the NRM told the court that INEC refused to acknowledge the outcome of the convention because it did not monitor the exercise.

    Delivering his judgement on the matter, Justice Egwuatu faulted INEC for its refusal to recognise national officers of the party that emerged from the convention.

    The court held that there was evidence before it to establish that NRM served INEC a valid notice to monitor its emergency national convention.

    According to the court, it was wrong for the electoral body to have refused to monitor the exercise as the law mandates it to do.

    More so, the court held that the notice from the NRM, not being short of the 21 days required by the law, INEC had no reason not to have monitored the said convention.

    Justice Egwuatu said he was convinced that the NRM effectively made out a case to warrant the grant of the reliefs it sought in the suit.

    Consequently, he declared that under the provisions of Sections 82(1)} and 83 (1) of the Electoral Act, 2022, the respondent (INEC), is under a constitutional obligation to accept and monitor the emergency convention of the applicant (NRM) to fill vacancy and correct lopsidedness in its NEC.

    He equally declared that the failure of the respondent to accept and monitor the emergency convention of the applicant to fill vacancy and correct lopsidedness in its NEC amounted to a refusal/failure to discharge its constitutional and/or public duty contrary to the provisions of Sections 82(1) and 83 (1) of the Electoral Act, 2022 and therefore unconstitutional and unlawful.

    The judge proceeded to issue an order of mandamus compelling INEC “to accept and monitor the emergency convention of the applicant to fill vacancy and correct lopsidedness in its NEC and recognize the decision or outcome of the convention.”

    Meanwhile, reacting to the judgement, Chief Njoku who was in court to witness the proceeding, lauded the judiciary for coming to the rescue of the party, even as he urged INEC to comply with the decision.

    Njoku expressed his determination to reposition the party to be a major contender in future elections.

  • INEC publishes notice of polls for FCT Councils

    INEC publishes notice of polls for FCT Councils

    ABUJA: The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC has published the “Notice of Polls” for the Saturday, February 21, 2026 Area Council Elections in the Federal Capital Territory FCT, Abuja.

    In the notice published on Wednesday, INEC said the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System BVAS shall be used for the exercise and that no one will be able to vote without his or her Permanent Voter Card PVC.

    The notice states; “This is to inform the general public that the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC will conduct election in the six Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory FCT as follows;

    Date: Saturday, February 21, 2026

    Time: 8:30 am

    Venue: All Polling Units in the Federal Capital Territory FCT

    “Note that eligible voters shall vote at polling units where they are registered.

    “Only persons whose names appear on the register of voters and have valid Permanent Voter Cards would be allowed to vote

    “The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System BVAS shall be used. No PVC, no voting”.

  • Edo Gov Poll: We’ve no witness, INEC tells tribunal as it closes defence

    Edo Gov Poll: We’ve no witness, INEC tells tribunal as it closes defence

    ABUJA– The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Thursday, said it would not call any witness to defend the outcome of the governorship election it conducted in Edo State on September 21, 2024.

    The electoral body, through its team of lawyers led by a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, told the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja that it would not produce any witness to testify on its behalf.

    Agabi, SAN, made the disclosure barely 24 hours after the Commission told the Justice Wilfred Kpochi-led three-member panel tribunal that it had a line-up of five witnesses that would give evidence to support the result it declared in favour of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress, APC, who is the 2nd Respondent in the case.

    INEC persuaded the tribunal to adjourn the case till Thursday, stressing that the witnesses would come to Abuja from Benin, Edo State.

    However, at the resumed proceeding, INEC’s lead counsel, Agabi, SAN, said his team shelved the idea of bringing witnesses, after it reviewed the case.

    “My lords, after we left you yesterday (Wednesday), we gave more thought to the matter and came to the conclusion that the sensible thing to do is to close the case of the 1st Respondent, which we hereby do,” Agabi, SAN, told the tribunal.

    On their part, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, said they were not surprised by the development.

    “Frankly speaking, we are not surprised and it is well within the right of the 1st Respondent to show such a good discretion. We are not objecting,” the petitioners’ counsel, Mr. Adetunji Oyeyipo, SAN, stated.

    Both Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, who appeared for Governor Okpebholo and Mr. D. C. Dewigwe, who represented the APC, said they were not opposed to INEC’s decision.

    Consequently, the panel adjourned the matter till Monday for governor Okpebholo to open his defence to the petition.

    It will be recalled that INEC had declared that Okpebholo of the APC secured a total of 291, 667 votes to defeat his closet rivalry, Ighodalo of the PDP, who got a total of 247, 655 votes.

    Aggrieved by the outcome of the poll, the PDP and its candidate approached the tribunal, praying it to nullify INEC’s declaration of the APC and Okpebholo as winners of the contest.

    The petitioners, among other things, contended that the governorship election was invalid by reason of alleged non-compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act.

    They equally argued in the petition marked: EPT/ED/GOV/02/2024, that governor Okpebholo of the APC did not secure the highest number of lawful votes that were cast at the election.

    Satisfied with evidence of 19 witnesses that testified and tendered several documents in support of their case, the petitioners closed their case on Monday.

    INEC had earlier produced and tendered before the tribunal, a total of 153 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVA, machines that were used in the 133 polling units where results of the election are disputed.

    The Commission equally tendered in evidence, a certified copy of the result of the governorship election.

  • Beam searchlights on party primaries, delegates’ buying, INEC charges CSOs

    Beam searchlights on party primaries, delegates’ buying, INEC charges CSOs

    ABUJA: The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC has charged Civil Society Organizations CSOs in the country to renew their focus on the candidates’ recruitment processes of political parties in order to strengthen the electoral process.

    INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu gave the charge Tuesday in Abuja at the commission’s first regular consultative meeting with CSOs in 2025.

    He said; “I would like to urge civil society organizations to be as interested in party primaries as you are actively engaged in the monitoring of secondary elections conducted by INEC. Afterall, only the candidates nominated by the political parties are placed on the ballot paper for citizens to vote for on Election Day.

    “From your monitoring reports as accredited election observers, you have consistently expressed concerns over vote-buying at Polling Units during elections. Some of you have made actionable recommendations on how to curtail the menace which have been favourably considered by the Commission. It is time to cast your net wide by focusing on the incidence of delegate-buying by aspirants during primaries.

    “Some delegates openly boasted of how much money they made from aspirants during party primaries. You should intensify your advocacy in support of the practical steps taken by the relevant security and law enforcement agencies to tackle this diabolical practice”.

    He reminded the CSOs that the Commission had released the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the Anambra State Governorship election on 17th October last year.

    “As required by law, the Notice of Election was published on 13th November 2024 i.e. 360 days before the date fixed for the election scheduled to hold on 8th November 2025. The next activity is the conduct of party primaries which begins next month. All political parties interested in fielding candidates for the election shall commence their primaries on 20th March 2025 and end three weeks later on 10th April 2025. The Commission’s preparation for the election is on the agenda for this meeting.

    “Similarly, the Commission has released the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the Area Council election in the Federal Capital Territory FCT which is the only part of the country where INEC conducts Local

    Government election. The election will hold on Saturday 21st February 2026. As you are aware, the four-year tenure of the six Chairmen and 62 Councillors will end next year. The last Area Council election was held on 12 February 2022”, he added.

  • INEC calls for cost-effective alternative means to by-election

    INEC calls for cost-effective alternative means to by-election

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has called for the amendment of the law for a more cost-effective alternative methods of filling vacancies at the national and state assemblies.

    The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu made the call during the commission’s consultative meeting with political parties on Wednesday in Abuja.

    He urged stakeholders to prevail on the national assembly to amend the law for a more cost-effective alternative means as it was  being practiced in many jurisdictions around the world.

    Yakubu said that INEC had been appealing to stakeholders, including political parties, to join the advocacy and for the national assembly to amend the law accordingly.

    He said that over the last one and a half years since the inauguration of the current national and state assemblies in June 2023, vacancies had occurred in 23 constituencies.

    According to him,  this is as a result of death of serving members or voluntary resignation for executive positions at federal, state,  local governments.

    He said some also resigned due to their appointment as ministers, commissioners, chairman of a local government or as a  board member or chairman.

    “While the commission has conducted nine by-elections early last year, 14 more vacancies have occurred since then.

    “They are unpredictable, unbudgeted for and difficult to plan in advance. Worse still, some by-elections lead to another.

    “There are situations where a by-election in one senatorial district was won by a serving member of the house of representatives from the same district, thereby creating another vacancy.

    “In turn, a member of the state assembly won the by-election to the house of representatives and this led to  another vacancy in the state assembly.

    “Consequently, one by-election led to three by-elections.

    “Not only are these by-elections costly, they also divert the commission’s attention from its other extensive electoral responsibilities,’’ he said.

  • JUST IN: Protest rocks INEC over demand for Ondo REC redeployment

    JUST IN: Protest rocks INEC over demand for Ondo REC redeployment

    Scores of demonstrators from Ondo stormed the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Abuja on Tuesday, demanding the immediate redeployment of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, from the state.

    Waving banners and placards with messages such as “Mahmood: Redeploy Babalola Now” and “We Don’t Want a Repeat of Edo Fiasco,” the demonstrators blocked the entrance to the national secretariat, demanding a meeting with INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, to voice their concerns.

    The protest comes a week after the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, made a similar request, citing concerns over Babalola’s alleged links to the ruling All Progressives Congress. Speaking at a Peoples Democratic Party campaign rally in Akure, Makinde argued that Babalola’s background in Ondo may compromise the neutrality of the electoral process.

    Supporting the governor’s stance, Ayo Adeyemi, Leader of the demonstrators and Convener of the Ondo Youth League, told journalists that while they had no personal issues with the REC, they could not risk any potential bias in the upcoming election.

    Adeyemi stated, “Redeploying Babalola is in the best interest of our people and INEC to ensure a free and credible election.”

    He added, “We urgently demand that INEC redeploy Ondo Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, from the state. We respect her accomplishments, especially as a woman who has risen to such a prominent position. But for a free and fair election in Ondo, we can’t have Babalola overseeing the process. She grew up here, knows nearly everyone in the public sector, and is highly familiar with the state.
    Babalola hasn’t done anything wrong; we simply want her reassigned to another state to avoid any possible conflict of interest.”

    “We’re not here to criticise INEC’s operations; we just want an unbiased REC to oversee the upcoming governorship election.”

    Responding to the protesters, INEC National Commissioner, Major General Modibbo Alkali (retd), commended them for their orderly conduct.

    Alkali assured them that the commission would consider their concerns regarding Babalola’s position.

    “We appreciate seeing you come here well-organised. INEC operates impartially, without alignment to any political party or candidate. We function under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he

    said. “We’ve received your letter, and INEC will consider it thoroughly. Rest assured, your concerns will be analysed and addressed by the commission chairman.”