The 991 members of the 36 state Houses of Assembly are elected from single-seat constituencies using first-past-the-post voting; when vacancies occur, by-elections (or bye-elections) are called, scheduled, and administered by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
On April 6, 2021, the member for Isoko North, Tim Owhefere (PDP) died from an undisclosed illness.[1] In March, INEC set the date for the by-election for April 10 with party primaries taking place between March 11 and March 20.[2] Jude Ogbimi, the PDP nominee, defeated runner-up Emmanuel Tabuko (APC) by over 83% and nearly 27,000 votes.[3] The election had 25.51% turnout and was conducted peacefully according to participating candidates.
On June 27, 2021, the member for Isoko South I, Kenneth Ogba (PDP) died from an unspecified heart-related disease.[4] In August, INEC set the date for the by-election for September 11 with party primaries taking place between August 4 and August 31. Ovuakpoye Evivie, the PDP nominee, defeated runners-up Ogaga Ifowodo (APC) and Michael Emumena Paul (SDP) by nearly 60% and over 5,500 votes. The election had 16.94% turnout and was successfully used as a test run for INEC's new Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) device with candidates and observers praising INEC's conduct.[5][6][7] However, the election's successful conduct was overshadowed by the murder of a local vigilante by gunmen at Polling Unit 5 of Irri Ward 10 and the nonfatal shooting of another person in Oleh.[8][7] After the election, INEC disclosed that five BVAS devices had been stolen during the election and implored Evivie to help find and return them.[9]
Ekiti East I State Constituency by-election (postponed)[edit]
On January 31, 2021, member for Ekiti East I Juwa Adegbuyi (APC) died from an undisclosed illness.[10] In February, INEC set the date for the by-election for March 20 with party primaries taking place between February 26 and March 3.[11][12] However, on the by-election date, multiple reports of violence and ballot snatching including the murder of 3 people at a polling station in Omuo where Senator Abiodun Olujimi was observing voting led INEC to suspend the by-election indefinitely.[13][14]
On January 18, 2021, member for Kafin Hausa, Adamu Babban Bare (APC), died from an undisclosed illness suspected to be cancer.[15] Later in January, INEC set the date for the by-election for March 6 with party primaries taking place between February 2 and February 8.[16] APC nominee and son of Adamu Babban Bare, Muhammad Adamu, defeated the PDP's Garba Tambale by 26% and over 6,300 votes.[17] The election had 39.86% turnout and was conducted smoothly according to lawmakers and INEC officials.[18]
On April 29, 2021, the seat of Sabon Gari was declared vacant after member Aminu Abdullahi Shagali (APC) did not attend legislative meetings for a prolonged period of time and did not submit a requested letter of apology to the House of Assembly.[19] In May, INEC set the date for the by-election for June 19 with party primaries taking place between May 18 and May 24.[20] The PDP nominee, Usman Baba, flipped the seat by defeating the APC's Musa Musa by 10% and over 1700 votes.[21] The election was conducted peacefully according to journalists but was marred by low turnout, at 13.43%.[22]
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