By Muhammad Mamman
the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced it will include Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidates in Saturday’s high-stakes by-elections across 12 Nigerian states, following a Federal High Court ruling in Abuja. The decision, revealed late Friday, sets the stage for a dramatic electoral showdown despite INEC’s plans to appeal the court’s order.
The bombshell announcement came via a statement from INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun. He confirmed that the court, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1525/2025, ordered INEC to reinstate SDP candidates after the party challenged its initial exclusion from the by-elections. The commission had previously omitted the SDP due to the party’s failure to submit valid notice for conducting primaries, which INEC did not monitor.
“In compliance with the judgment, we have accepted and published the manually submitted candidate names on our website,” Olumekun said, assuring voters that the 11th-hour ruling won’t disrupt the elections. “The by-elections will proceed as scheduled on Saturday, August 16.”
The by-elections span two senatorial districts in Anambra and Edo, five federal constituencies in Edo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Ogun, and Oyo, and nine state constituencies across Adamawa, Anambra, Kaduna, Kano, Kogi, Niger, Taraba, and Zamfara. Additionally, court-ordered re-run elections in Enugu South I (Enugu State) and Ghari/Tsanyawa (Kano State) will take place concurrently, adding to the electoral intensity.
While INEC has complied with the court’s directive, Olumekun emphasized that the commission intends to exercise its “legitimate right of appeal” under Nigerian law, signaling potential legal battles ahead. For now, all eyes are on the voters as they head to the polls in a contest now electrified by the SDP’s unexpected inclusion.
