Senate Directs INEC To Conduct By-elections For Vacant Anambra, Edo Senatorial Seats

Senate Directs INEC To Conduct By-elections For Vacant Anambra, Edo Senatorial Seats

By Samson Elijah, Abuja

The Nigerian Senate has directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct by-elections to fill the vacant seats in Anambra South and Edo Central Senatorial Districts.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio issued the directive during plenary on Tuesday in Abuja while officially declaring the two seats vacant and instructing INEC to begin preparations for the elections.

The Anambra South Senatorial District seat became vacant following the death of Senator Ifeanyi Ubah of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on July 27, 2024. Ubah, 52, reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest in London, two days after leaving Nigeria for the UK on July 25.

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Meanwhile, the Edo Central Senatorial District seat became vacant after its former occupant, Senator Monday Okpebholo, was elected as Edo State governor in the September 22, 2024 gubernatorial election.

Okpebholo, the APC candidate, won with 291,667 votes, defeating his closest rival, Asue Ighodalo, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who secured 247,655 votes.

The Senate had already declared Okpebholo’s seat vacant in December 2024 after holding a valedictory session in his honour.

INEC had previously stated in January 2025 that it was waiting for an official request from the Senate before proceeding with the by-elections, particularly for Anambra South, which had remained unoccupied since 2024.

During a recent stakeholders’ dialogue organised by the International Press Centre (IPC) in Awka, Anambra State, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Elizabeth Agu, reiterated the commission’s readiness to conduct the elections once it received a formal directive from the Senate.