INEC Announces Date For Edo, Ondo Governorship Elections

INEC Announces Dates For Edo, Ondo Governorship Elections

By Haruna Yusuf, Abuja

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed the dates for the Edo and Ondo State Governorship elections. According to a statement dated 26th September 2023 and endorsed by National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Mr Sam Olumekun, the Edo State Governorship election will hold on Saturday 21st September 2024, while that of Ondo State will hold on Saturday 16th November 2024.

The tenure of the Governors of Edo and Ondo States will end on 11th November 2024 and 23rd February 2025 respectively.

Section 178 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) provides that election into the said offices shall hold not earlier than 150 days and not later than 30 days before the expiration of the tenure of` the last holder of the office. To that extent, the latest date for Election to the office of Governor, Edo State, is 12th October 2024 while that of Ondo State is 24th January 2025. Similiarly, Section 28(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022 requires the Commission to publish Notice for the Election not later than 360 days before the date of the election.

Details of the timetable for the Edo State governorship election reveal, among others, that Party primaries will hold from 1st – 24th February 2024 while the submission of the list of nominated candidates via the online portal will start at 9.00am on 4th March 2024 and close at 6.00pm on 24th March 2024. The final list of candidates will be published on 23rd April 2024 while campaign in public by political parties commences on 24th April 2024 and ends 24 hours prior to election day on 19th September 2024.

For the Ondo State governorship election, Party primaries will hold from 6th – 27th April 2024 while the submission of the list of nominated candidates via the online portal will start at 9.00am on 29th April 2024 and close at 6.00pm on 20th May 2024. The final list of candidates will be published on 18th June 2024 while campaign in public by political parties commences on 19th June 2024 and ends 24 hours prior to election day on 14th November 2024.

Details of the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the two elections have been uploaded to the Commission’s website and social media platforms.

Olumekun appealed to the political parties and their candidates to take note of the activities contained in the timetable for strict compliance.