The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, will today conduct a bye-election to fill the vacant House of Representatives seat in Ibadan North Federal Constituency, Oyo State.
The election follows the death of the former lawmaker, Hon. Musliudeen Olaide Akinremi of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who passed away in July 2024.
INEC confirmed that the poll will take place across the 12 electoral wards that make up the constituency. A total of 217,980 eligible voters who have collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) are expected to determine the outcome.
Five parties in the race
Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Adeniran Rahmon Tella, disclosed that although primaries of seven political parties were monitored, only five made the final list of candidates.
They are:
Hon. Akin Alamu Dexter Femi (African Democratic Congress, ADC)
Hon. Olatunji Haastrup Adewale (All Progressives Congress, APC)
Hon. Odususi Olajumoke Olabisi (All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA)
Hon. Oyekunle Fola Sunday (Peoples Democratic Party, PDP)
Hon. Hammed Badmus (Zenith Labour Party, ZLP).
Candidates sign peace accord
Ahead of the exercise, the five candidates signed a peace accord at the INEC office on Wednesday in the presence of party representatives, security agencies, and other stakeholders.
Tella said the peace accord was aimed at fostering unity and ensuring a violence-free process. He stressed that INEC was committed to delivering a credible election, urging stakeholders to uphold the agreement.
Logistics and security in place
According to INEC, there are 272,196 registered voters in the constituency, spread across 512 polling units. Of these, 217,980 have collected their PVCs and are eligible to vote.
The commission confirmed that 2,062 poll officials will be deployed, alongside 526 configured Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines, with 48 set aside as back-ups. Results will be uploaded real-time to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
Sensitive election materials, including ballot papers and result sheets, were received from the Central Bank on Thursday in the presence of party agents, security agencies, and the media.
Security operatives under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), led by the Commissioner of Police, have assured of adequate protection of voters and officials before, during, and after the election.
INEC further announced a restriction of movement across the 12 wards of Ibadan North from midnight until the conclusion of voting today.
Media coverage
Eighteen media organisations have been accredited to cover the exercise. INEC urged journalists to remain objective, fact-check reports, and avoid amplifying misinformation.
Tella also cautioned against voter intimidation and vote buying, calling on citizens to come out early and exercise their franchise between 8:00am and 2:00pm.
