Hitches in by-election results in 12 states spark renewed calls on next INEC Chairman

According to a plethora of reports, the by-election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Saturday, August 16, 2025, in 12 states across the country was marred by violence, apathy and malfunctioning of BVAS in many of the places where the exercise took place.

For instance, the arrest of nearly 288 suspected thugs in Kano State, where the election was held in two constituencies, is one example of the scale of violence.

However, what many do not know is that there was another hitch that may have also compromised the integrity of the results of the bye-election.

The upload of the results into the IReV was not achieved 100 per cent in at least six states 72 hours after the conclusion of the by-election, according to some election observers.

Election observers noted that this is contrary to what happened in the Ondo governorship election, which took place in November 2024 and which results’ upload on the IRev was achieved 100 per cent the same day.

“In contrast to the recent Ondo 2024 governorship election where INEC successfully achieved a 97% upload of polling unit results on IReV by 9:30 PM on Election Day, thus ensuring timely and reliable public access to the result of the election, the Saturday, August 16 bye-election did not meet this standard”, some observers under the aegis of Kimpact Development Initiative, KDI, said in their report.

“As of 6 PM on August 19, 2025, the results upload on IReV indicated that only four out of 16 bye-election constituencies and two re-run election constituencies had achieved 100 per cent upload three days after the election.

“While BVAS and IReV have contributed positively to the transparency framework, it is important to note that the integrity of the election may be compromised if INEC is unable to achieve full upload, including details of cancelled polling units (Form EC40G), within two days following the election.

“This concern is particularly worrying in instances where results have already been declared, and certificates of return have been issued to winners. Transparency must be comprehensive”.

As at press time, Umpire News could not immediately confirm the states where 100 per cent upload of results was not achieved within the 72 hours claimed by the observers.

The states where the by-election took place include Anambra, Edo, Enugu, Kaduna, Adamawa, Jigawa, Kano, Taraba, and Zamfara.

INEC had declared APC, the party in power at the federal level, the winner of the poll in 10 of the 12 states, while giving victory to the PDP in Oyo and APGA in Anambra. “PDP controls Oyo just as APGA is in power in Anambra.” The election in Zamfara, also controlled by the opposition PDP, was declared inconclusive.

Yiaga Africa, Another election observer group, which, although did not monitor the by-election, said “it is almost like the IReV is playing little or less significant role in Nigeria election results process,” arguing that the development is defeating the whole purpose of the introduction of that system, “especially because the guideline actually recognizes the role of IREV in the results management process.”

The hitches in the by-election appear to have sparked an agitation over the next INEC Chairman as the incumbent, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, leaves office before the end of 2025.

Yiaga Africa set the criteria for the appointment of the successor in such a way that would move Nigeria’s electoral sytem forward.

The criteria include non-partisanship background of the successor, experience in election issues and participation of the citizenry in the appointment process, especially the screening at the National Assembly.

The Director, Programmes, Yiaga Africa, Cynthia Mbamalu, while speaking on the by-election in 12 states, said, “So the question is, what happened to some locations? Why did you have some fully-unit results uploaded in higher percentages than in some other locations?

“And then the bigger question of transparency because the idea is for locations; for instance, where fully-unit results are canceled, when the results, the fully-units are all to be uploaded, so that citizens can even have a sense of, okay, this was canceled based on over-voting, because then, it’s clear that it’s over-voting or something else.”