Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), with members of the commission meet with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) to finalize preparations for upcoming electoral activities.
The important meeting is focused on:
Final arrangements for November’s Anambra State governorship election
Logistics for pending bye-elections across several states
Operational plans for resuming the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise
Preliminary preparations for the 2026 FCT Area Council elections
Remarks by the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, at the second quarterly consultative meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) held at the INEC conference room, Abuja on Tuesday 1 July, 2025
National Commissioners
The Resident Electoral Commissioners
The Secretary to the CommissionDirectors and other Senior Officials of the Commission
Members of the INEC Press Corps
Ladies and Gentlemen
1. I welcome our Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) to this regular consultative meeting. I would like to introduce to you two National Commissioners, Professor Sunday Aja and Abdulrazak Yusuf, who are attending this meeting for the first time following their assumption of duty a few months ago. Similarly, I would like to welcome the six RECs sworn-in 32 days ago, particularly the four of you who are attending this meeting for the first time.
2. The meeting with RECs usually comes at the end of our consultative meetings with stakeholders. Throughout last week, the Commission met with leaders of Political Parties, Civil Society Organisations, the Media and the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES). Matters arising from these engagements that require your attention will be discussed at this meeting.
3. I am glad to note that we now have RECs in all the States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). I wish to remind you that your work does not begin as the General Election approaches. You are full-time Commissioners. There are policy and procedural issues already determined by the Commission which you need to implement without prompting from the Headquarters in Abuja. Some of you are already doing so, but you need to intensify your effort. You do not need an elaborate conference or workshop to build the capacity of your staff to improve on their knowledge of new policies and practical innovations introduced by the Commission to improve electoral service delivery to Nigerians. You also need to provide us with information on your plans to enhance voter access to polling units by decongesting some of them or in other areas such as the cleaning-up of the voters’ register, deepening our engagement with electoral stakeholders at State and Local Government levels, the management of electoral logistics and election security. I wish to remind you that elections and electoral activities take place in the States of the Federation and your role as managers of personnel and resources is critical for success. You can only effectively discharge your responsibilities when you are knowledgeable and committed. I encourage you to intensify your effort so that we will play our part in what is a multi-stakeholder responsibility more effectively.
4. Already, the Commission has announced the dates for a number of elections and electoral activities. For the next one year (16th August 2025 to 8th August 2026), the Commission is holding five major elections. These are the bye-elections in 12 States of the Federation on 16th August 2025, the Anambra State Governorship election on 8th November 2025, the Area Council elections in the FCT on 21st February 2026, the Ekiti Governorship election on 20th June 2026 and the Osun State Governorship election on 8th August 2026. The Commission has released the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for these elections and some of the activities have already been carried out, the latest being the commencement of campaign by Political Parties in Anambra State, the publication of the Notice of Election for the Ekiti State Governorship election and the conclusion of party primaries for the FCT Area Council elections.
5. Turning to electoral activities, the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) resumes nationwide on 18th August for online pre-registration and 25th August 2025 for in-person registration. However, the CVR in Anambra State will resume next week and will be held simultaneously in all the 326 Wards in the State. This will enable the Commission to conclude the exercise and compile the new voters’ register not later than 90 days before the date fixed for the election as provided by law. You will be updated on the implementation plan at this meeting. The detailed timetable and locations of the CVR have already been made public by the Commission.
6. As we approach the bye-elections, the off-cycle Governorship elections and ultimately the 2027 General Election, the Commission is concerned with the various interpretations given to the provision of Section 65 of the Electoral Act 2022 on the review of election results. Pursuant to our powers to issue regulations, guidelines and manuals to give effect to the provisions of the Electoral Act and for its administration, the Commission is working on a supplement to the Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections 2022 to provide clarity on the review of declaration and return at elections. As soon as the Commission takes a decision, perhaps as early as this week, the supplementary Regulations and Guidelines will be uploaded to our website and other platforms for public information.
7. There is a lot to discuss at this meeting. Let me therefore once again welcome you all as we go into the working session.
8. Thank you and God bless.
