The Independent National Electoral Commission has picked Saturday, August 16, 2025, to hold by-elections aimed at filling empty seats in both the National and State Assemblies in 12 different states.
This announcement was made by INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, during a meeting held with political party leaders in Abuja on Thursday. He noted that the vacant positions were caused by resignations, deaths, and court judgments that canceled previous results.
“These elections will take place in 16 constituencies involving two Senatorial Districts, five Federal Constituencies, and nine State Assembly seats,” Yakubu said.
The elections will be conducted in two Senatorial zones — Anambra South and Edo Central — along with five Federal Constituencies in states such as Edo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Ogun, and Oyo. For State Assemblies, the elections will cover nine constituencies in Adamawa, Anambra, Kogi, Kaduna, Kano, Niger, Taraba, and Zamfara.
According to Yakubu, a total of 30,451 INEC staff will be deployed to manage the voting process. These by-elections will include 3,553,659 registered voters across 32 Local Government Areas, 356 Wards, and 6,987 polling units.
However, voting will not take place in Khana II constituency of Rivers State because of a security emergency and in Talata Mafara South constituency of Zamfara State due to an ongoing legal case.
Yakubu noted that political parties must conduct their primaries between July 17 and 21. The parties are expected to submit their candidates’ nomination forms online from July 22 to 26. Campaigns for the by-elections can begin on August 2 and must end on August 14.
In addition to the by-elections, two court-ordered re-run elections will also happen on August 16. These are for the Enugu South I constituency in Enugu and Ghari/Tsanyawa in Kano. These reruns had been postponed earlier due to violence.
The INEC Chairman also shared plans for resuming the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise across the country. Online pre-registration will start on August 18, followed by in-person registration on August 25.
“For the nationwide CVR, the commission has approved the resumption of the online and in-person registration of voters in all the States of the Federation,” he said.
In preparation for the Anambra governorship election, a separate voter registration will take place from July 8 to July 17 across the 326 wards in the state. Yakubu urged people who have not yet registered, or those who need to transfer or replace their voter cards, to take part.
“Uncollected PVCs from previous registrations will also be available for collection at the registration centres,” he noted.
Speaking on the Anambra election scheduled for November 8, Yakubu said INEC has published the final list of 16 candidates and their running mates. Public campaigns by political parties began on June 11 and will end on November 6.
Political parties were reminded to follow INEC’s rules on rallies, meetings, and processions. Hard copies of the relevant guidelines were shared with party leaders at the meeting.
Yakubu also gave an update on the Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections. He reminded political parties that their primaries must end by June 30. Candidate lists must be uploaded between July 21 and August 11. He warned that the upload portal will close at exactly 6:00 PM on August 11 and will not reopen.
Dr. Yusuf Dantalle, National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), addressed party leaders during the meeting. He noted the need to restore public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral system.
He pointed out that low voter turnout remains a concern, blaming it on mistrust, fear of violence, and politicians who do not keep their campaign promises. “This is unacceptable and must be addressed immediately,” he said.
He also urged political parties to hold fair and open primaries, particularly ahead of the FCT and Anambra elections. Dantalle called for issue-based campaigns and advised politicians to avoid hateful language.
