December 31, (THEWILL) – The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approved the timetable and schedule of activities for conducting bye-elections resulting from the resignation (or demise) of members of the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly.
The vacancies were announced by the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Speakers of the State Houses of Assembly.
The elections have been scheduled for Saturday, February 3, 2024. The vacancies occurred across two senatorial districts, four federal constituencies and three state constituencies spanning nine states of the federation.
The two senatorial districts are Ebonyi South and Yobe East. The Minister of Works, David Umahi, won the last Senatorial Election in Ebonyi South, but he later resigned to take up appointment as a member of President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet.
The federal constituencies are Kebbi State – Yauri/Shanga/Ngaski; Lagos State – Surulere Federal Constituency; Ondo State- Akoko North East/Akoko North West; Taraba State – Jalingo/Yorro/Zing.
President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, who was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), won the National Assembly Election in Surulere Federal Constituency, but he was later appointed as Chief of Staff.
The Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, won the National Assembly election in Akoko North East/ Akoko North West before he was appointed minister, leaving the constituency without a representative in the National Assembly.
The State Houses of Assembly Election will be held in Guma, Benue State; Chibok in Borno State and Chikun 1 in Kaduna.
Furthermore, INEC is also set to conduct re-run elections stemming from the last general election as directed by various Election Petition Appeal Tribunals.
Currently, about 35 constituencies are affected by these court-ordered re-run elections. While three cover entire constituencies, others involve only a few polling units.
Both categories of elections are scheduled to take place simultaneously in all affected constituencies on Saturday, February 3, 2024.
The constituencies where the tribunals directed a repeat of the elections include the entire Plateau North Senatorial District.
Others are Ikono/Ini Federal Constituency in Akwa Ibom State; Nnewi North/Nnewi South/Ikwusigo Federal Constituency and Orumba North /Orumba South Federal Constituency (election will take place in Nenka Ward, Orumba North) in Anambra State.
In Cross River State, elections will be held in two local government areas and 11 registration areas, as well as 19 polling units in Akamkpa /Basa Federal Constituency.
In Enugu State, elections will take place in the two local government areas that make up the Igbo Eze North/ Udenu Federal Constituency, which consists of 24 registration areas.
Elections will equally take place in Igabi Federal Constituency of Kaduna State, which comprises one local government area, eight registration areas and six polling units; Kachia/Kagarko Federal Constituency of Kaduna State and in Birni Kudu/Buji Federal Constituency of Jigawa State where elections will only take place in two local government areas and five registration areas .
There will be election in Faskari/ Kamkara Sahuwa Federal Constituency of Katsina State in two local government areas, 12 registration areas and 25 polling units; Jos North/ Basia Federal Constituency of Plateau State with 30 registration areas and 1,209 polling units as well as in Arewa/ Dandi Federal Constituency of Kebbi State where election will hold in the two local government areas, 12 registration areas and 25 polling units.
Election will take place in Fika/Fune Federal Constituency of Kebbi State.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun said the electoral umpire released the timetable for the elections, including the detailed delimitation data (i.e. registration areas, names of polling unit, the number of registered voters and PVCs collected), platforms as a guide to political parties.
He urges parties and candidates to strictly adhere to the specified timelines for the seamless conduct of the elections.
Political Parties’ Preparation
The three major political parties in the country, the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) have released timetables and schedules of activities for the February 3, 2024, bye-elections and the court ordered elections.
The APC bye-election timetable was released last Monday. It was signed by the party’s National Organising Secretary, Sulaimon Argungu.
According to APC, the sale of nomination, expressions of interest and delegate’s forms to contestants for Senatorial, House of Representatives, and State Houses of Assembly seats began on December 27, 2023. The sales will end on January 2, 2024. The party’s primary elections are scheduled to take place on January 6, 2024.
APC’s expression of interest and nomination forms for the Senate, House of Representatives and State Houses of Assembly are sold for N20 million, N10 million and N2 million, respectively.
However, for the PDP, the bye-elections timetable was released last Wednesday by the party’s National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature.
Also, it covered the schedule of activities for the contestants in the senatorial, House of Representatives, and state Assembly seats, ahead of the February 3, bye-elections.
According to the PDP, the sale of nominations, expressions of interest and delegate forms began on December 28, 2023 and it will end on January 3, 2024.
The PDP said the price for expression of interest and nomination forms for the Senate, House of Representatives, and State Houses of Assembly is N3.5million, N2.5million and N600, 000, respectively.
Meanwhile, both parties made concessions for youths and people living with disabilities. For the APC, female aspirants and persons living with disabilities are to pay for only the expression of interest form. For these persons, the bye-election nomination form is free.
Also, APC youths aged between 25 and 40 years are required to purchase expression of interest forms. But there is a 50 percent discount on nomination forms.
A similar rule exists in the PDP. The party said that female aspirants and persons living with disabilities would pay for nomination forms only, while youths below 40 years are expected to purchase expression of interest forms with a 50 per cent discount on nomination forms.
The Labour Party (LP) has also released a timetable and schedule of activities for aspirants wishing to contest the February 3, Senatorial, House of Representatives and State Houses of Assembly bye-elections.
The National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Obiora Ifoh, said on Thursday that the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party had approved the purchase of nomination, expression of interest and delegate forms which commenced on December 28 and will end on January 4, 2024, while the submission of completed forms end on January 4, 2024. The Primary Elections will be held on January 7, 2024.
The party’s leadership also approved fees for the expression of interest and nomination forms, respectively, as follows:
“Senate-N1.5 Million and N3.5 Million; House of Reps-N1 Million and N2 Million; State House of Assembly-N100, 000 and N500, 000.”
However, the LP exempted female aspirants and persons with disabilities (PWD) aspirants from payment of fees for the expression of interest forms only.
The party also alerted the public to a fake timetable in circulation, purportedly released by some fraudulent and expelled members of the party, “seeking to defraud unsuspecting members of the public of their hard-earned money through sales of fake forms.
Labour Party said, “Just like they did and failed in Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi States governorship elections, where some people fell into their trap and were defrauded, we wish to state clearly that the timetable from these fraudsters did not emanate from the LP and that the so-called account number in circulation is not known to the party.
“We warn that people should disregard the fraudulent group.
“The forms for the bye-election can be obtained at the office of the National Organising Secretary, National Headquarters, Utako, Abuja, where the proper accounts belonging to the party and other vital information regarding the coming elections will be made available to the aspirants and members of the public.
“The Labour Party is also aware of selective attacks on some of our party leaders and aspirants in the Edo governorship polls by these fraudulent groups aimed at discouraging them from the governorship race.
“We urge our aspirants to disregard their nuisance value and focus on the project before them. We also warn these falling villains to seek an alternate platform to vend their trade as Nigerians are already aware of their shameful gimmick which has since expired.”
Speaking on the coming bye-elections, a political analyst, Frederick Ojabor, said the exercise is going to be a litmus test for the INEC in the New Year.
He told THEWILL, “The bye-election will be a litmus test for the INEC because it will take place in many states of the Federation. It will also be a prelude to the governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States which will be held later in the year.
“INEC must prepare adequately and bring back hope to the people of Nigeria who were disappointed by its performance in the last general election due to non-compliance with putting the results of the presidential election in the viewing portal.
“The performance of INEC will go a long way in restoring the confidence of voters in other elections coming up later in the year.
“The security operatives should also put in their best during the election. All in all, President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly should also give all the support to INEC”, he said.
About the Author
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
