BYE-ELECTION and re-run are underway in Benue, Lagos, Bayelsa and 23 other states today, Saturday, February 3.
According to updates by the TVC, election officials and materials arrived early, and accreditation of voters commenced around 9 a.m. in polling unit 011 in LGA primary school, Mbabai, Uikpam, Guma, Benue state.
Accreditation and voting also commenced in some other locations in the state at 9:00 a.m., including polling unit 002, Atongu compound, Uikpam, Guma Local Government Area (LGA).
Several other reports suggested that the election process has been relatively peaceful.
Some presiding officers offered a brief sensitisation to party agents on how to conduct themselves before the commencement of voting, and priority voting was given to the elderly, persons with disabilities, and pregnant women in most polling units observed.
In the Randle Avenue Primary School, polling unit 054, Surulere LGA of Lagos state, The ICIR observed that women were more in the queue than men.
Also, in polling unit 009 in Randle Avenue Primary School, Surulerel LGA, INEC officials were seen enlightening voters.
Other polling units in Surulere have also commenced accreditation and voting, according to TVC.
The ICIR reports that 12 candidates representing various political parties are vying for the Surulere Federal Constituency I seat in the House of Representatives.
The Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, had represented the constituency before his appointment, and it was declared vacant by INEC after he accepted the offer.
Gbajabiamila was named Chief of Staff on Friday, June 2, and assumed office on Wednesday, June 14.
Since then, his federal constituency has remained without a representative for nearly seven months.
Meanwhile, as of 9 a.m., voting is yet to start in polling units in the metropolis of Jos in Plateau state for the Jos North Senatorial and Federal Constituency rerun election.
Voting and accreditation have also commenced in other states, including Kaduna.
Before the elections, the Nigerian Police had instructed its officers to ensure the safety of the electorate, INEC officers, and electoral materials, given alleged plans by some groups to disrupt the polls in some states.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M