THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Ogun State, ‘Niyi Ijalaye, is dead.

Ijalaye reportedly slumped and died on Monday, August 19, after a meeting of RECs at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

Although the cause of his death is still yet to be known, the late REC was lively throughout the commission’s meeting and had returned to his hotel room after the meeting in the nation’s capital before his passing.

Ijalaye was appointed as Ogun State’s REC in March 2022, following the transfer of  Olusegun Agbaje, his predecessor to Lagos State.

Meanwhile, the commission has yet to respond to his death.

The meeting, which was presided over by the INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, a professor, focused on the off-cycle governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states, and the seven vacant positions in the national and state assemblies.

The ICIR reported that INEC had extended the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) deadline in Ondo and Edo states by four days.

The exercise, originally scheduled to end on Wednesday, June 5, was extended till Sunday, June 9, to allow more eligible voters to register for the elections.

The Edo State governorship election will be held on Saturday, September 21, while the Ondo State election is scheduled for Saturday, November 16.