The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that candidates of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) will now participate in Saturday’s by-elections across 12 states, following a recent court directive.
This was disclosed in a statement on Friday by Sam Olumekun, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee.
He revealed that the Federal High Court in Abuja, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1525/2025, had ordered the commission to include the SDP and its candidates in the polls.
“In compliance with the judgement, the names of the candidates submitted manually have been accepted and published on our website. The party will participate in the bye-elections,” the statement read.
According to Olumekun, the SDP had initially been left out of the process due to failure to meet procedural requirements.
He explained that the party “did not earlier submit a valid notice for the conduct of primaries for the by-elections” and, as a result, INEC did not monitor the party’s primaries.
Despite the timing of the judgement, Olumekun gave assurances that the development would not interfere with election preparations.
“The 11th-hour judgement will not affect the election which will proceed tomorrow, Saturday 16th August 2025, as scheduled,” he said.
He further noted that while INEC would comply with the ruling, it also reserves the right to challenge the decision legally.
“The commission will also exercise its legitimate right of appeal under the law,” he added.
