No fewer than 34 constituencies will on Saturday (today) elect their leaders into one senatorial district, 11 federal constituencies and 22 state Assembly constituencies.
While some are reruns, others are bye-elections that will be held in the states, which include Ebonyi, Yobe, Kebbi, Lagos, Ondo, Taraba, Benue, Borno, Kaduna, Plateau, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Cross River, Delta, Enugu, Jigawa, Katsina, Adamawa, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Kano, Nasarawa, Niger, Oyo, Sokoto, and Zamfara.
The rerun elections only involve the parties and candidates that participated in the general elections, unless a party wishes to replace a deceased candidate. However, bye-elections are fresh elections.
The Election Petition Appeal Tribunals have ordered the commission to conduct rerun elections in 34 constituencies made up of one senatorial district, 11 federal constituencies, and 22 state assembly constituencies.
According to the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, “The purpose of this meeting is to brief party leaders on the commission’s preparation for the forthcoming elections to be held early in the new year. The elections are in two categories.
“First, as the Election Petition Appeal Tribunals set up in the aftermath of the 2023 general elections gradually wind up their proceedings, the commission is required to conduct rerun elections in some constituencies by court order.
“Secondly, the commission is also required to conduct bye-elections to fill vacancies arising from the death or resignation of members of the national and state Houses of Assembly. The commission intends to combine and conduct the two categories of elections on the same day, the details of which will be discussed at this meeting.
“Consequently, political parties must conduct fresh primaries within the limited period of time provided by law.
“So far, the Election Petition Appeal Tribunals have ordered the commission to conduct rerun elections in 34 constituencies made up of one senatorial district, 11 federal constituencies, and 22 state Assembly constituencies.
“However, the 34 constituencies constitute 2.8 percent of the 1,191 petitions filed by litigants. Significantly, out of the 34 rerun elections, it was only in three cases that the commission was ordered to conduct elections in the entire constituency. In the other 31 constituencies, elections are to be held in a few polling units.
“I want to assure you that at the end of all the litigation, including the governorship elections pending on appeal at the Supreme Court, the commission will present a comprehensive analysis of the petitions, including cases where the commission was ordered to issue Certificates of Return to other candidates and the reasons for the decisions by the courts as part of the lessons learnt from the 2023 general elections for the consequential reforms to improve the conduct of future elections.
“The commission is looking at the first week of February 2024, i.e., just a little over one month to conduct both the re-run and bye-elections.”
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Police has beefed up security across the states where the elections will be held.
The Niger State Commissioner of Police, Shawulu Danmamman, in a statement on Friday by the state police spokesman, Wasiu Abiodun, assured residents of adequate security ahead of the House of Assembly’s re-run election for the Lavun constituency.
Similarly, the Kano State Police Command’s acting spokesman, ASP Abdullahi Hussaini, in a statement assured that the police are ready to provide adequate security.
On his part, the Akwa Ibom State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Odiko MacDon, said, the command has “deployed 2000 Officers and Men of the Command and Sister Security Agencies to 54 Polling units and 15 Wards in the 3 Local Government Areas affected by the re-run election in Akwa Ibom State to provide topnotch security before, during and after the re-run election holding on Saturday, 3rd of February, 2024.
He added that “The Command has put in place adequate security measures for the peaceful conduct of the re-run election.
The Taraba State Police Command in a statement by its spokesperson, Usman Abdullahi, insisted that the movement restriction earlier issued by the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Ogbetokun, will be enforced on individuals and vehicles in areas where rerun elections will be held on Saturday.
It will be recalled that the IGP through the Force PRO, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, had earlier issued a directive restricting all forms of vehicular movement on roads, waterways, and other forms of transportation from 12am to 6pm during the election.
