The Nigerian Senate has officially requested the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to organize by-elections to fill the vacant seats in the Edo Central and Anambra South Senatorial Districts.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!This announcement was made by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary on Tuesday, where he declared the seats officially vacant. The Edo Central seat became vacant following the inauguration of Monday Okpebholo as the Governor of Edo State in December 2024. Okpebholo’s election left the seat unfilled, and the Senate had declared it vacant in early 2024.
Similarly, the Anambra South seat has been vacant since the passing of Senator Ifeanyi Ubah in July 2024.
In January 2025, INEC had indicated that it was awaiting a formal request from the Senate before proceeding with the by-election for the Anambra South seat. Elizabeth Agu, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Anambra State, also reiterated this information during a stakeholders’ dialogue held by the International Press Centre (IPC) in Awka, Anambra State.
With both senatorial districts currently without representation in the Senate, Akpabio urged INEC to take prompt action in organizing the elections to restore representation for the affected constituencies.