By Biodun Busari

Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999 after general elections were held across the country to vote political leaders into various offices, but there are also off-season elections. 

The general elections are conducted every four years in the country, but off-season elections have been in existence since courts overturned some election results in states after petitions were submitted by the aggrieved politicians or parties.

This led to the conducting of new elections or reinstating the winners, thus leading to changes in the default timetable of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Such differing reasons leading to the INEC’s changes in the election timetable where elections are conducted in other states affected are called off-season or off-cycle elections.

History of off-season elections

Currently, Nigeria has eight off-cycle governorship elections which include Anambra, Bayelsa, Kogi, Edo, Ondo, Ekiti, Osun and Imo states.

The off-season election began with Anambra in 2006, when former governor, Peter Obi, who contested under the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) was sworn in.

Obi emerged as the governor after contesting the result of the 2003 that installed Dr Chris Ngige of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). 

Since that time, the governorship election in Anambra has been held three years after the general election, as the next one will be held in 2026.

Trends from seven other states

Others that followed the Anambra saga came in 2007 when election tribunals upturned several results in Bayelsa and Kogi, as governors were temporarily replaced by the Speakers of the Houses of Assembly, before returning elections held later that year.

In the same year 2007, Edo, Ondo, Ekiti and Osun, the winning candidates from different parties started their terms following court rulings.

The most recent state that joined in this off-season trend is Imo which occurred in 2019, after the Supreme Court nullified the election of Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP and declared the Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner.

Facts from Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo

Bayelsa

Bayelsa state held its first off-cycle elections in 2007. Timipre Sylva of the PDP was declared governor, but Ebitimi Amgbare of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) challenged the election result before the tribunal, and he lost.

Losing at the tribunal, Ebitimi petitioned the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt to overturn the prior verdict. The judgment of the Appeal court prompted INEC to organise a new poll in the state in 2008. Sylva won and was declared elected in the newly held election, which disrupted the state’s election calendar. 

The next governorship election in the state is slated for 11 November, 2023.

While the contest is a two-horse race between the incumbent governor Duoye Diri of the PDP and Sylva of the APC out of 16 contestants, other prominent contenders are Udengs Eradiri and Binalayefa Osuluku of the Labour Party and the Social Democratic Party respectively. 

Meanwhile, there are two female candidates who are Kemelayefa Ogege Mercy of the Action Peoples Party (APP) and Oguara Nengimonyo of the Action Democratic Party (ADP).

Kogi

Kogi state held its gubernatorial election on April 14, 2007 and PDP’s Ibrahim Idris was declared the winner. Idris’ main challenger, Abubakar Audu of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), petitioned the Kogi state election tribunal to oppose the verdict.

He claimed his name had been improperly left off the list of candidates meant to run for office. He took the case all the way to the appellate court. 

Although the election was nullified, calling for the conduct of a fresh election, Ibrahim Idris won the re-election as Kogi State’s governor on March 29, 2008. 

The next election is scheduled for 11 November, 2023.

There are 18 contenders for the governorship seat are APC’s Ahmed Ododo, PDP’s Dino Melaye, while others in the race are Adejoh Okeme of the LP and Alhaji Muritala Ajaka of the SDP.

Also, Dauda Isah and Dele Williams of the Allied People’s Movement (APM) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Idoko Ilona of the APGA and the only woman in the Fatima Suleiman of the Zenith Labour Party respectively are in the race.

Imo

In 2019, Imo state joined the off-cycle election when Governor Uzodinma of the APC contested the result of Emeka Ihedioha, the PDP candidate. 

The legal battle moved from the election tribunal to the Supreme Court. Uzodimma was inaugurated as governor of the state on January 14, 2020, after the Supreme Court declared him the winner. 

The state will have its first off-season election alongside Bayelsa and Kogi on November 11, 2023.

Among the 17 candidates are Uzodinma of the APC, Senator Samuel Anyawu of the PDP, Senator Athan Achonu of the LP, Obinna Ekwebelem of the SDP, and Maj-Gen Lincoln Ogunewe (retd) of the Action Alliance (AA).

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