By Mercy Peter
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Tuesday solicited for the support of security agencies in tackling the twin menace of vote and delegate buying in the country’s electoral system.
INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu made the appeal at the first regular meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, ICCES, for the year 2025.
The INEC boss stressed that attention must be paid to the menace of vote-buying.
He said: “ There is of course a lot of work to do, especially in combating vote buying.
“ The Commission is happy with our collaboration with the law enforcement agencies, particularly the anti-graft agencies. Beyond the arrest of vote buyers on Election Day, our active partnership has so far resulted in the successful prosecution of some offenders in three States of the Federation.
“As you are aware, the problem also manifests itself during the party primaries for the election of candidates. In the same way that voters are targeted at Polling Units on Election Day, so too is delegate-buying at the venues of congresses and conventions for the election of candidates.
“As you can see from the Timetable and Schedule of Activities included in your folders for this meeting, party primaries for the Anambra State Governorship election begin next month, followed by the Area Council election in the FCT in June. We should continue to work together in partnership with other critical stakeholders to address the menace.”
Yakubu also informed the security agencies on the released arrangement for Anambra State Governorship election scheduled for Saturday 8th November 2025 and also the end-of-tenure Area Council election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) scheduled for Saturday 21st February 2026.
He added, “For Anambra State, election will be held in 5,720 Polling Units while results will be collated at 326 Ward centres, 21 Local Government Areas and the State Collation Centre in Awka. In the case of the FCT, elections will be held for 68 constituencies made up of six Area Council Chairmen and 62 Councillors. We will deploy to 2,822 Polling Units while results will be collated in 62 Wards which constitute the councillorship constituencies. For the six Chairmen, final results will be collated and winners declared at the various Area Council collation centres.
“Furthermore, the Commission is also preparing for bye-elections to fill vacancies in the National and State legislative houses. As you are aware, nine bye-elections were conducted last year. Since then, 16 more vacancies have occurred in 12 States of the Federation involving two Senatorial Districts, five Federal Constituencies for election to the House of Representatives and nine State Assembly Constituencies.”
He also said that the Commission will make the delimitation details available to the security agencies to guide their operational deployment for the elections.
Yakubu also commended the organisation of the last Ondo State governorship, saying that “ Our experience in the management of logistics during the last Ondo State Governorship election provides the template for future elections. Better coordination in the deployment of security and electoral officials contributed to the early commencement of polls and peaceful conduct of the election, in spite of the challenging terrain, especially in the riverine areas. The forthcoming Governorship election in Anambra State must be similarly well coordinated. Together, we should continue to give Nigerians a happy experience on Election Day and beyond.”
In his remarks, the representative of the National Security Adviser, Hassan Yahaya Abdullaho, Director, Internal Security, said the lessons learnt in the Edo and Ondo election will be vital in future security operations.
“Therefore, moving forward, the NSA has assured that the lessons learned from the isolated incidents recorded during the Edo and Ondo polls will be vital in refining security strategies, ahead of the forthcoming bye elections in some parts of the Country, including the Governorship election in Anambra State, scheduled for 25th November later this year,” he said.
