NASS By-Elections: Your Votes Will Count – INEC Assures Edo People

By Raphael Okhiria/Felix Azamosa

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has again reassured the people of Edo State that the by-elections into the two national assembly seats in the state will be free, fair and credible.

The by-elections are to fill the vacant Edo Central Senatorial and Ovia Federal Constituency seats, following the emergence of Senator Monday Okpebholo and Hon. Dennis Idahosa as governor and deputy governor of the state, respectively.

Edo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Anugbum Onuoha, who gave the assurance during a press conference in Benin City, disclosed that nine political parties have indicated interest to take part in the by-election which is scheduled for August 16, 2025.

The participating political parties include Action Alliance (AA), African Democratic Congress (ADC), All Progressives Congress (APC), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Democratic Party (ADP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

“From our records, the Labour Party and others didn’t invite us for their primaries. Some others invited us, but when we got there, their doors were locked. We could not find anyone,” Prof. Unuoha said.

The REC disclosed that INEC is fully prepared to conduct a transparent and seamless election, noting that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices have been configured and that non-sensitive election materials have already been deployed.

He however raised concerns over the number of uncollected Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in the areas where the election is scheduled to hold.

According to him, out of 719,504 registered voters in the seven local government areas affected by the bye-election, 101,617 PVCs have not been collected.

But in a reaction to calls by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), for his redeployment from the state due to his alleged closeness to Barr. Nysome Wike, Prof. Unuoha dismissed the demand and urged the media to collaborate with the commission in its efforts to ensure a credible election.

He insisted that “even if you bring your brother to INEC, he can’t compromise elections because of the way the commission is structured.”

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