The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that the recruitment and training of ad hoc staff for the upcoming elections have been completed, alongside security and logistics preparations. The Commission revealed this after its regular weekly meeting held on Thursday, 14 August 2025. It also confirmed that the final batch of sensitive election materials will be delivered today as planned.
INEC stated that bye-elections will take place on Saturday, 16 August 2025, in 16 constituencies across 12 states. These will cover two Senatorial Districts in Anambra and Edo States, five Federal Constituencies in Edo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Ogun, and Oyo States, and nine State Constituencies in Adamawa, Anambra, Kaduna (2), Kano, Kogi, Niger, Taraba, and Zamfara States. According to the Commission, these elections follow resignations or deaths of sitting lawmakers. In addition, re-run elections ordered by the court in Enugu South 1 State Constituency of Anambra and Ghari/Tsanyawa State Constituency of Kano will be conducted on the same day.
“All non-sensitive materials for the elections have been delivered to the states. The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) has been configured for the polls,” INEC confirmed. The Commission reminded political parties and candidates that campaigns officially end by midnight today, 14 August 2025. It urged all stakeholders to follow electoral laws and guidelines for a smooth process.
The Commission also announced the resumption of the nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) from Monday, 18 August 2025, beginning with online pre-registration. Physical registration will commence on Monday, 25 August 2025, in 811 INEC State and Local Government offices. Citizens can access the list and locations of these centres, along with dedicated telephone numbers for assistance, on the Commission’s website. INEC’s active CVR Locator is set to go live on Sunday, 17 August 2025.
The CVR will allow eligible Nigerians to register for the first time, transfer their voter registration within or across states, and replace damaged or lost Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs). However, INEC stressed that the exercise is strictly for citizens aged 18 and above who have not previously registered, warning that multiple registrations remain a punishable offence.
On the publication of personal particulars of candidates for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections, INEC confirmed that 17 political parties submitted nominations before the deadline of 6:00pm on Monday, 11 August 2025, when the portal automatically closed. The Commission will display candidates’ Form EC9, along with academic credentials and supporting documents, in its offices across the six Area Councils from Monday, 18 August 2025, in line with Section 29(3) of the Electoral Act 2022.
A total of 637 candidates are contesting for 68 positions in the FCT, including six Chairmanship and 62 Councillorship seats. INEC called on Nigerians to examine the documents and report any false information to the courts. “Any aspirant with reasonable grounds to believe that a candidate’s details are false can challenge the nomination in a Federal High Court as provided in Section 29(5) of the Electoral Act 2022,” the Commission stated.
The final list of candidates for the FCT Area Council elections will be released on 22 September 2025, in line with Section 32(1) of the Electoral Act 2022. The elections are scheduled for Saturday, 21 February 2026.