By Tunde Opalana
The Independent National Electoral commission, (INEC) has announced November 8, 2025 date for the conduct of the Anambra State governorship election.
The chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu disclosed this during the fourth regular consultative meeting with leadership of political parties in the country on Thursday at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
He said this disclosure is in compliance with the mandatory requirement of 360 days, the formal notice for the election will be published on 13th November 2024.
Reeling out time table and schedule of the election, he said “party primaries will be held from 20th March 2025 to 10th April 2025. The candidate nomination portal will open at 9.00am on 18th April 2025 and close at 6.00pm on 12th May 2025. The final list of candidates will be published on 9th June 2025.
“Campaign in public by political parties will commence on 11th June 2025 and end at midnight of Thursday 6th November 2025. Voting will take place in all the 5,720 Polling Units across the State on Saturday 8th November 2025.”
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According to him, in the coming weeks, the Commission will provide details of other electoral activities, including the registration of new voters, transfer of voters and the replacement of lost or damaged PVCs.
Yakubu further said “the detailed Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2025 Anambra State Governorship election will be uploaded to our website and social media platforms before the end of this meeting. Hard copies will also be made available to you shortly.”
The Commission urged political parties to use the INEC Timetable to come up with their own Timetable and Schedule of Activities to enable them work together and plan better for the deployment of personnel and resources for the monitoring of party primaries and campaign activities.
“By doing so, you will avoid the last minute rush with the attendant inability to meet deadlines. We will discuss this important matter at this meeting,” he added.
As preparation for the Ondo State Governorship election continues, he said INEC is always mindful of it’s responsibilities for elections and electoral activities.
“For instance, Section 28(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 requires the Commission to issue the notice for elections not later than 360 days before the date of the election. This applies to the General as well as Off-Cycle governorship elections. As you are aware, the last governorship election in Anambra State was held on 6th November 2021. By the effluxion of time, the governorship election is due next year.
“The Commission is also glad to report that the collection of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) from the last Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) commenced today in Ondo State. For the next five days (17th – 21st October 2024), the cards will be available for collection at each of the 203 wards across the State.
“Thereafter, the cards will be available for collection in our 18 Local Government Area offices in the State for one week (23rd – 29th October 2024). As earlier announced, the centres will be open to citizens from 9am – 5pm daily. A document containing the names and location addresses of the 221 collection centres has already been uploaded to our website for public information. Hard copies are also included in your folders for this meeting.”
He appealed to political parties to support the Commission in mobilising registered voters to collect their PVCs.
“To make the process easier, we have also uploaded the register containing the names and photographs of new voters (fresh registrants, transfers and applications for replacement of lost or damaged PVCs) to our website to facilitate a seamless collection of the cards,” he said.
Chairman of the Inter – Party Advisory Council, IPAC , Alhaji Dantalle Yusuf urged INEC to improve upon past performances by conducting credible election in Ondo State on November 16.
“The commission is required to put its act together, provide adequate electoral materials, test run its BVAS and IReV portal to avoid undue technical hitches and glitches that will cast doubt on the integrity of the election.
“The issue of late arrival of election materials to some polling units must be addressed to reinforce confidence in the polls. Equally important is effective communication by the commission’s officials particularly during the collation of results to avoid suspicion of manipulation of results as it happened in the Edo State governorship election where some politicians stormed the collation centre to know why collation of results was suspended.
“Nigerians, indeed the entire world expect transparency in the conduct of elections,” he said.
He urged stakeholders in the electoral process to join in voter education, sensitisation and mobilisation to ensure a free, fair, credible, transparent, inclusive, and peaceful election that will meet international standards.
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