• PDP Chair Arrested in Ogun over alleged Vote Buying
• Police Arrest Man With N25m in Kaduna
• APC Demand Cancellation of Election in Kano
By Abiola Olawale
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has conducted by-elections and court-ordered re-run elections across 16 constituencies in 13 states on Saturday, August 16, 2025, to fill vacant legislative seats in Nigeria’s National and State Assemblies.
With over 3.5 million registered voters participating across 6,987 polling units, the elections addressed vacancies caused by resignations, deaths, and court rulings
The New Diplomat reports that INEC deployed 30,451 officials to oversee the electoral process, which spanned 32 local government areas and 356 wards in states including Jigawa, Edo, Ogun, Oyo, Adamawa, Anambra, Kaduna, Kano, Taraba, Kogi, Niger, Enugu, and Zamfara.
The elections covered:
Two Senatorial Districts: Anambra South (vacated after the death of Senator Ifeanyi Ubah in July 2024) and Edo Central (vacated following Senator Monday Okpebholo’s election as Edo State Governor).
Five Federal Constituencies: Ovia South West/Ovia South East (Edo), Babura/Garki (Jigawa), Chikun/Kajuru (Kaduna), Ikenne/Shagamu/Remo North (Ogun), and Ibadan North (Oyo).
Nine State Constituencies: Ganye (Adamawa), Onitsha North I (Anambra), Dekina/Okura (Kogi), Zaria Kewaye and Basawa (Kaduna), Bagwai/Shanono (Kano), Mariga (Niger), Karim Lamido I (Taraba), and Kauran Namoda South (Zamfara).
Court-Ordered Re-Runs: Enugu South I (Enugu) and Ghari/Tsanyawa (Kano), previously disrupted by violence and thuggery, were conducted alongside the by-elections with assurances of enhanced security
Election Day Highlights
The New Diplomat gathered that reports from various states indicated a mix of successes and challenges:
Ogun State: Governor Dapo Abiodun, after voting in Iperu’s Osanyin Ward Three, praised INEC’s preparedness and noted an impressive voter turnout. However, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for Remo Federal Constituency, Bolarinwa Oluwole, alleged voter intimidation and violence by thugs loyal to the All Progressives Congress (APC), accusing security agencies of complicity. Two PDP members, including the state chairman, and two INEC officials were arrested for alleged vote-buying.
Zamfara State: The Kaura-Namoda South by-election saw a large voter turnout but faced disruptions in Kasuwar Daji Primary School, where suspected thugs canceled voting in two polling units. Allegations of voter inducement and issues with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) were reported.
Kaduna State: Voting in Chikun/Kajuru Federal Constituency proceeded smoothly in many polling units, though a suspect was allegedly arrested with ₦25 million allegedly intended for vote-buying.
Anambra State: Governor Chukwuma Soludo commended the peaceful process in Anambra South but reported an incident involving the manhandling of an environment commissioner by opposition thugs.
Edo State: Governor Monday Okpebholo voted in Edo Central, describing the process as peaceful but expressing concerns over BVAS delays.
Kano State: The APC demanded the cancellation of the Shanono/Bagwai and Ghari re-run elections, citing alleged widespread violence and voter intimidation by armed thugs.
Taraba State: A large voter turnout was recorded in Karim Lamido I, though BVAS malfunctions reportedly caused accreditation delays
“After the close of the poll and the ballots have been sorted, counted, and the figures entered correctly into the Form EC8A, which is the polling unit result, the presiding officers are required to snap a picture of the PU results and then upload it to the IREV.
“And of course, maybe between 3 pm and 4 pm, depending on when each polling unit concludes, the results will be posted, and Nigerians will have access to see the results as they are posted from the various polling units,” Oyekanmi said while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
The results were still trickling in as of the time of filing the report.
