The Independent National Electoral Commission has cleared 19 political parties for the Ibadan North Federal Constituency bye-election in Oyo State.
INEC also said 217,980 voters are expected to participate in electing a new representative at the National Assembly for the constituency.
The body also said that all participating political parties will campaign from August 2 to August 14.
The Oyo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Adeniran Tella, stated this on Wednesday at the stakeholders’ meeting with political parties, ahead of the by-election slated for August 16.
The member representing Ibadan North Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Mr Olaide Akinremi, died on July 10, 2024, which necessitated the conduct of a by-election.
Tella said that the Ibadan Federal Constituency comprises 12 wards with 512 polling units, and has 272,196 registered voters, but only 217,980 collected Permanent Voter Cards.
He said there would not be a need again for the collection of PVCs for those who had not 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,” he said.
The REC, therefore, sought the collective commitment of all the stakeholders to ensure a peaceful, credible and inclusive electoral process.
The Chairman, Inter-Party Advisory Council in Oyo State, Mr Adegbenro Fagbemi, charged INEC to conduct a transparent and credible bye-election.
Adegbenro equally tasked the electoral body to prioritise security, noting that isolated elections such as the forthcoming election could be volatile if security wasn’t taken seriously.
Representatives of the Peoples Democratic Party, All Progressives Congress, Labour Party, Action People’s Party, Social Democratic Party, and Zenith Labour Party, among others, attended the meeting.
