The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that 217, 980 voters in Ibadan North Federal Constituency in Oyo state would elect a new representative at the National Assembly, for the constituency.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Oyo state, Dr Adeniran Tella, said this on Wednesday at the stakeholders meeting with political parties ahead of the by-election slated for Aug. 16.
The member representing Ibadan North Federal Constituency at the House of Representative, Mr Olaide Akinremi, died on July 10, 2024, which necessitated the conduct of a by-election.
Tella said that Ibadan Federal Constituency comprised of 12 wards with 512 polling units, has 272,196 registered voters “but only 217,980 collected Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs).”
He said there would not be need again for collection of PVCs for those that haven’t collected theirs before the conduct of the by-election.
The REC further stated that the commission already had some of the non-sensitive election materials in its custody.
“While others are to be received as well, including the sensitive materials before the election date.
“The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines expected to be used are currently being activated by the commission.”
Tella also said that 19 registered political parties in the state were eligible to participate in the by-election, adding that all participating political parties will campaign from Aug. 2 to Aug. 14.
The REC, therefore, sought for collective commitment of all the stakeholders to ensure a peaceful, credible and inclusive electoral process.
The Chairman, Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Oyo state, Mr Adegbenro Fagbemi, charged INEC to conduct transparent and credible by-election.
Adegbenro equally tasked the electoral body to prioritise issue of security, noting that isolated election such as the forthcoming election could be volatile if security wasn’t taken seriously.
The All Progressives Congress (APC); People’s Democratic Party (PDP); Labour Party (LP), Action People’s Party (APP); Social Democratic Party (SDP), and Zenith Labor Party (ZLP) among others, were represented at the meeting.
