Nigeria’s electoral body, INEC, on Thursday fixed the Aba North/South Federal Constituency of Abia State bye-election for March 27.
The seat was declared vacant following the death of Ossy Prestige, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) lawmaker, on February 6 in Germany.
He was first elected in 2015 to represent his constituency at the House of Representatives. He was re-elected in 2019.
In its schedule of activities released on Thursday, the commission fixed the conduct of primaries among political parties interested in the position between March 4 and 10 while the last day for submission of list of nominated candidates is at 6 p.m. on March 16.
“Political parties fielding candidates for the bye-election should pay close attention to the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the conduct of the bye-election and conduct transparent and valid party primaries in line with the dictates of Section 87 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).
“We enjoin political parties to note that under section 31(8) of the Electoral Act, a political party which presents to the Commission the name of a candidate who does not meet the qualifications stipulated in the Constitution and the Electoral Act shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction shall be liable to a maximum fine of N500, 000,” the INEC spokesperson, Festus Okoye, warned in the statement.
The commission’s latest announcement pegs the total number of bye-elections to be conducted by the INEC in the month of March at two.
A similar election has been slated for March 20, to fill the vacant seat for the Ekiti East State Constituency 1 of Ekiti State.
While Abia State is currently under the leadership of a Peoples Democratic Party governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, the Ekiti State is under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
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