The bye-election to fill the vacant House of Representatives seat in Ibadan North Federal Constituency holds today, Saturday.
The bye-election became necessary as a result of the death of the former occupant of the seat, Hon Musliudeen Olaide Akinremi.
Akinremi, who died in July last year, was a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The election is billed to take place in twelve electoral wards that make up the federal constituency.
Only Big Story reports that 217, 980 prospective voters who have collected their Permanent Voters’ Cards will determine the fate of the candidates contesting the election.
Five political parties and their candidates have been moving from one ward to the other to seek votes.
We monitored primary of 7 political parties, 5 made final list – INEC
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), disclosed that only five political parties will participate in the election.
The commission made this declaration on Wednesday.
Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Dr Adeniran Rahmon Tella made this declaration during a media briefing in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
He said that the commission monitored the primary election of seven political parties but only five political parties made the final list.
Tella said, “The commission has met with various key Stakeholders ahead of the upcoming Bye-Election. We have met with all the registered Political Parties in the State. In line with the timetable, Party Primaries have been conducted and Seven (7) Political Parties were monitored by the Commission. Five (5) Political Parties made the final list published by the Commission.
“The parties and candidates that scaled through and that will be contesting in this upcoming Bye-Election on Saturday are as follows: Hon. Akin Alamu Dexter Femi of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Hon. Olatunji Haastrup Adewale of All Progressive Congress (APC), Hon. Odususi Olajumoke Olabisi of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Hon. Oyekunle Fola Sunday of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Hon. Hammed Badmus of Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) respectively”.
Five candidates sign peace agreement
Only Big Story reports that before today, all the five candidates signed a peace accord.
The peace accord was signed by the candidates at the INEC office on Wednesday.
The event was attended by representatives of the political parties, security chiefs and other stakeholders.
The five candidates who signed the peace agreement are: Dexter Femi Akin-Alamu from African Democratic Congress (ADC), Adewale Haastrup Olatunji from All Progressives Congress (APC), Olabisi Olajumoke Odususi from All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Fola Sunday Oyekunle from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Hammed Badmus from Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
The REC, Mr Tella, while addressing the gathering, noted that the essence of the peace accord is to foster unity.
He added that the commission was committed to conducting a credible election.
He said, “On behalf of the Independent National Electoral Commission, it is my pleasure to welcome you all to this significant event -the official signing of the Peace Accord for Ibadan North Federal Constituency Bye-Election.
“This gathering demonstrates your commitment to promoting peace, stability and credibility in the electoral process. The signing of this Peace Accord is a crucial step towards ensuring a free, fair and transparent election.
“As we embark on this critical process. I urge all stakeholders to adhere to the principles outlined in the Peace Accord. Let us work together to create an environment that allows voters to exercise their rights without fear or intimidation.
“You all witnessed the official signing of the “Peace Accord” by these Political Party Flagbearers and their Parties participating in the upcoming Bye-election on Saturday. The essence of which is to foster a conductive environment for voters to exercise their rights, ultimately contributing to the legitimacy and credibility of the electoral process.
“The Commission had constant engagements with the members of Inter Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) with the Commissioner of Police as the lead Security Agency in this regard. Assurances have been made to ensure safety, protection of lives and property of the electorate before, during and after the conduct of the coming election.
“However, there will also be restriction on movement (except for Voters, Poll Officials) in the affected places within Ibadan North Federal Constituency beginning from 12:00 midnight prior to this coming Saturday’s election.
“There will also be restriction on movement in Twelve (12) Registration Areas/ Wards in Ibadan North Federal Constituency which are: Ward I (Islamic Mission Primary School, Odoye) Ward II (St Stephen Primary School, Inalende), Ward III (Salvation Army Primary School Yemetu), Ward IV (Methodist Primary School, NTA), Ward V (Ikolaba High School, Ikolaba), Ward VI (St Gabriel Grammar School, Mokola), Ward VII(St Louis Grammar School, Mokola), Ward VIII (Chesire High School, Ijokodo), Ward IX C&S New Eden Primary School, Mokola), Ward X (Immanuel College Primary School, Samonda) and Ward XII which is (Methodist Primary School, Bodija) respectively.”
217, 980 PVCs collected – INEC
Meanwhile, INEC disclosed that 217, 980 PVCs were collected.
According to the REC, “There are 512 Polling Units with 272, 196 registered voters expected to participate in the upcoming Bye-Election.
“However, about 217, 980 have so far collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs). A total number of 2,062 Poll Officials will be employed for the coming election.
“Please note that, collection of PVCs for the upcoming Bye-Election in Ibadan North Federal Constituency will not be possible until the resumption of CVR exercise.
“The implication is that only those with their PVCs will be eligible to participate in the upcoming Bye-Election.
“The Electorate should therefore come out en masse to exercise their franchise between 8:00 am to 2:00pm on the day of election.
“The commission has configured a total number of 526 Bimodal Verification Accreditation System (BVAS) Machines with additional back-ups of 48 BVAS Machines for the upcoming election. All these are expected to be activated on the day of election.
“In other words, the use of technology will be deployed through the use of BVAS Machine and INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) for uploading of results on election day.
“We have been engaging the transport union in the State on our Vehicular needs for the election. We have activated and domesticated the existing Memorandum of Understanding between the Commission and the Transport Union with the aim of suiting the needs of the Commission in the upcoming election.
“Importantly, all the non-sensitive materials have been received and deployed to the concerned LGA for the election and hopefully tomorrow which is Thursday 14th August 2025, we shall be receiving and collecting sensitive materials-Ballot Papers/Result Sheets at the Central Bank in the presence of all Political Parties, Security Agencies for inward delivery to Ibadan North LGA as from 10:00am. Media organizations are also invited to witness the delivery process.
“Training of ad-hoc staff ranging from Supervisory Presiding Officers (SPOs), Presiding Officers (POs/Assistant Presiding Officers (APOs) have been completed.
“That of Collation Officers (COs) is ongoing at the moment. So, the Commission is fully set to conduct a credible, free, fair and inclusive Bye-election on Saturday.
18 media houses accredited for the election – INEC
The commission noted that it accredited only eighteen media houses for coverage of the election.
Our correspondent gathered that despite that many media houses registered for the accreditation online, only 18 were accredited.
The commission did not, however, give an explanation on why some media houses were not accredited.
Tella said: “INEC is committed to a free, fair and credible process.
“We, therefore, count on your support to educate the public and uphold electoral integrity.
“I enjoin voters to come out early, respect rules and avoid vote buying.
“I urge political parties and candidates to adhere to the peace accord signed here today and there should not be any form of voters’ intimidation on election day.
“At the moment, 18 media organizations have been accredited to cover this Saturday’s Bye-Election.
“Finally, I implore the media to be objective in their reporting and fact-check their stories in order to curb misinformation.”
