Chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC)
Chairmen and other Leaders of Political Parties
National Commissioners
The Secretary to the Commission
Other Senior Officials of the Commission
Members of the INEC Press Corps
Ladies and Gentlemen
1. It is with great pleasure that I welcome you all to our third regular quarterly consultative meeting for the year 2025. Our first meeting was held on the 22nd January, 2025 while the second meeting was held on 26th June, 2025. On behalf of the Commission, I want to express our appreciation for your regular attendance to these important meetings.
2. You will recall that on Tuesday, 7th October, 2025, the then Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu gracefully bowed out of office leaving behind a legacy of innovation, institutional strength and integrity. Today, we acknowledge with deep appreciation, his invaluable contribution, not just to INEC but to democracy across the Continent.
3. At the last quarterly meeting, the Commission announced a number of elections and electoral activities; these are the bye-elections in 12 States of the Federation on 16th August 2025, the Anambra State Governorship Election on 8th November 2025, the Area Council Elections in the FCT on 21st February 2026, the Ekiti Governorship Election on 20th June 2026 and the Osun State Governorship Election on 8th August 2026.
4. The Bye-Elections held on 16th August, 2025 across two Senatorial Districts, five Federal Constituencies and nine State Assembly Constituencies. Two Court ordered re-run Elections were also held in Enugu and Kano States on the same day. Declarations and Return were made across the States where the Bye-Elections held and Certificates of Return have been presented in compliance with the provision of the Electoral Act, 2022.
5. The Commission has released the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the other elections and some of the activities have already been carried out, the latest being the commencement of campaign by Political Parties in Anambra State and the FCT and the publication of the Notices of Election for the Ekiti State Governorship Election on 25th June, 2025 and that of Osun State Governorship Election on 13th August, 2025.
6. In less than a month, precisely on 8th November, 2025, the Anambra State Governorship Election will be held. The timetable and Schedule of Activities for the Anambra State Governorship Election details 13 (thirteen) key activities to be carried out by the Commission. I am glad to inform you that the Commission has completed 10 (ten) of these activities. The outstanding activities are: the publication of Notice of Poll slated for 25th October, 2025, the Last day for Campaigns – 6th November, 2025 and the date of the Election – 8th November, 2025. The Commission is committed to keeping strictly to the remaining activities as detailed in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities. Political Parties are therefore called upon to be mindful of the last day for campaigns and keep strictly to it. The Commission has been working assiduously and making arrangements for the successful conduct of the Anambra State Governorship Election and have had several engagements with the Security Agencies at National, State and Local Government levels. All non-sensitive materials for the Election have been delivered to the State and Voter Education and sensitization is ongoing.
7. The Area Council Election in the FCT scheduled for 21st February, 2026 will be held in 68 constituencies made up of Chairmen and their deputies for the six Area Councils, namely Abaji, the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali as well as 62 Wards drawn on the basis of 10 Wards for each Area Council except AMAC which has 12 Wards on account of its population. The timetable and Schedule of Activities for the Area Council Election details 13 (thirteen) key activities out of which 8 (eight) of these activities have been carried out. The outstanding activities are: last day for the submission of names of Polling Agents for the Election to the Electoral Officer of the Local Government Areas by Political Parties, Publication of Official Register of Voters by the Commission, Publication of Notice of Poll, the Last day for Campaigns and the date of the Election.
8. Turning to other electoral activities, the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) resumed Nationwide on 18th August, 2025 for online pre-registration and 25th August 2025 for in-person registration at all INEC State and Local Government Area Offices Nationwide. This exercise will run for a full year and will end on 30th August, 2026. The Commission is impressed by the response of Nigerians to the CVR exercise and for us, this is a testament that Nigerians believe in our democracy and the effort of the Commission towards ensuring that all eligible Nigerians are given the right to determine who leads them. The details of completed online pre-registrations and physical registrations are published on our website on a weekly basis.
9. As you are aware, the Commission received a total of 171 requests for registration of Political Parties. Each request was assessed on the basis of its compliance with the provisions of section 222 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), section 79 (1, 2 and 4) of the Electoral Act, 2022 and Clause 2 of the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties, 2022. Out of the total number of applications received, 14 Associations have met the requirements to proceed to the next stage. These details have also been published on our website.
10. Once again, it is my pleasure to welcome you all to this quarterly meeting and we look forward to your contributions to the improvement of the electoral process in Nigeria. On the part of the Commission, I wish to assure you of our commitment to deepening democracy through inclusive, transparent and credible electoral processes.
11. Thank you and God bless.