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Chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC)
Chairmen and other Leaders of Political Parties
National Commissioners
The Secretary to the Commission
Other Senior Officials of the Commission
Members of the INEC Press Corps
Ladies and Gentlemen
On behalf of the Commission, I welcome you all to this meeting. You may recall that about two months ago on Thursday 29th August 2024 we had an extraordinary meeting on preparations for the Edo State Governorship election. Today, we are holding the last in our regular quarterly consultative meetings with political parties for this year. We are glad that you continue to oblige us with your presence despite the short notice.
I have repeatedly said that there is no election season in Nigeria any longer. Recently, our regular meetings have come on the eve of major elections. With just 29 days (or four weeks) to the Ondo State Governorship election, today’s meeting is no exception. Only two days ago, the Commission presented the register of voters to political parties in our State office in Akure. With this development, we have successfully accomplished 10 out of the 13 activities listed in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the election. The remaining activities are the publication of the Notice of Poll, the Last Day of Campaign and Election Day. Although we have already published the Timetable, we are once again including copies in your folders for this meeting for guidance.
We have included in your folders for this meeting a summary of the list of polling and collation agents for the Ondo State election. The Commission is glad to note that all political parties fielding candidates for the election are in full compliance with the requirements for the upload. We are working in earnest to ensure that we deliver the identification tags for each of the 24,148 agents uploaded to our portal.
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. As usual, we appeal 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.
Even as we prepare for the Ondo State Governorship election, we are always mindful of our 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. Consequently, the Commission has approved that the 2025 Anambra State Governorship election will hold on Saturday 8th November 2025.
In compliance with the mandatory requirement of 360 days, the formal notice for the election will be published on 13th November 2024. 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. 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.
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.
I urge political parties to use the INEC Timetable to come up with your own Timetable and Schedule of Activities to enable us work together and plan better for the deployment of personnel and resources for the monitoring of your 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.
I welcome you once again to this meeting. I thank you and God bless.
