The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday announced Saturday 8th November 2025 as the date for the next Anambra state governorship election.
To this end, the commission said the party primaries would be held in the state from 20th March 2025 to 10th April 2025.
According to the Chairman of the Commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, at the quarterly consultative meeting with political parties, the formal notice for the election would be published on 13th November 2024, in compliance with the mandatory requirement of 360 days.
Yakubu stated that the candidate nomination portal would open at 9.00am on 18th April 2025 and close at 6.00pm on 12th May 2025. while the final list of candidates would be published on 9th June 2025.
The INEC boss added that campaign in public by political parties would commence on 11th June 2025 and end at midnight of Thursday 6th November 2025, while voting would take place in all the 5,720 polling units across the state on Saturday 8th November 2025.
Prof Yakubu said, “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”.
The INEC chairman also explained the extent of preparation for the November 16 governorship election adding that out of 13 activities in the timetable, the commission had carried out 10 remaining publication of the notice of poll, the last day of campaign and election day.
While commending all political parties fielding candidates for the full compliance with the requirements for the upload, he said the commission was working in earnest to ensure that we deliver the identification tags for each of the 24,148 agents uploaded to our portal.
He added: “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. 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”.
Meanwhile, the commission has re-admitted Labour Party into the meeting of political parties.
This was after the commission barred the Julius Abure-led party from its meeting with political parties in August this year on the ground of existence of factions in the party.
But at the meeting with the parties in Abuja on Thursday, the Labour party on the official invitation by INEC, the National Secretary of the party, Mallam Umar Farouk and the National Publicity Secretary, Pastor Obiora Ifoh, represented the party while Abure was conspicuously absent.
Also the National chairman of the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Alhaji Yusuf Dantalle, reiterated its demand for the scrapping of the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs), saying, “the sham called elections they conduct are deliberate assault on the nation’s democracy.
He further said, “Council will not fold its hand and allow this glaring perversion of the democratic process to continue. It is not just a coronation of the candidates of a ruling party in the state, it is daylight robbery of people’s votes and mandates for chairmanship and councillorship positions.
“In place of SIECs, Council proposes that INEC should conduct all Local Government elections in Nigeria as it does for federal and state elections. There is no need to create another body to conduct Local Government polls.
“The National Assembly should not dissipate energy and resources in establishing any Local Government electoral commission, instead it should strengthen INEC to conduct all elections in the country.
“The commission’s elections may not be perfect; they are far better and credible than the charades showcased by SIECs acting as rubber stamps of the governors who appointed them.
“IPAC is aware of crises in some political parties and inflammatory statements by politicians and public office holders that tend to overheat the polity.
“We re-emphasise the call on parties to always adhere strictly to their respective constitution and internal democracy.
“Council appeals to political leaders to also explore IPAC’s Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism (ADR) to address the protracted leadership disagreements in some political parties as enshrined in its Code of Conduct.
“As political Leaders, we must cultivate and promote the culture of resolving our own intermal disputes as evidence of leadership capability; rather than over reliance on the Judiciary.
“It is time we stop using the judiciary to make mockery of our hard earned democracy.
“The issuance of orders and counter orders, judgements and conflicting judgements by courts of coordinate jurisdiction are appalling, as if justice is for sale. Enough of these provocative Judicial somersaults that have made mockery of our emerging democracy.
“This is also a wake up call for urgent judicial reform that will sanction and flush out corrupt Judicial officers and restore the court as the Temple of Justice and the last hope of all aggrieved people.”