Nigerian Senate declares seat of lawmaker appointed as UN Permanent Representative vacant

The Senate on Tuesday declared the seat representing Ondo South Senatorial District vacant following the appointment of its occupant, Jimoh Ibrahim, as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

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The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, made the declaration during plenary and called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a by-election in the affected district.

Mr Ibrahim was known as one of the vocal lawmakers in the chamber, particularly on issues of insecurity. He had also contested the 2024 Ondo State governorship primary under the All Progressives Congress (APC) but lost the ticket to Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who later won the main election.

Before his exit from the Senate, Mr Ibrahim served as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Inter-Parliamentary Affairs. He holds a PhD in Warfare.

During a plenary in July 2024, he claimed to have a mobile application capable of detecting the number of guns within his jurisdiction. At the time, he said there are over 277 guns within the National Assembly and the Presidential Villa. He, however, did not specify who possessed the weapons.

Following the declaration, Mr Akpabio instructed the Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamorudeen Ogunlana, to formally notify INEC in line with the Electoral Act, which requires the vacant seat to be filled within 30 days.

Aside from the Ondo South Senatorial seat, three other seats in the chamber are vacant following the deaths of their occupants.

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Mr Akpabio had declared the three seats vacant in March. The affected districts are Enugu North, Nasarawa North, and Rivers South-east.

How by-elections will be conducted

By-elections in Nigeria are special elections conducted by INEC to fill vacant legislative seats before the end of a lawmaker’s tenure.

First, INEC will issue a formal notice declaring the vacancies and setting the timetable for the elections. This includes key dates such as party primaries, campaign periods, and the polling day. Political parties will then conduct internal primaries to select their candidates, which must be monitored and validated by INEC.

After candidate nomination, INEC will publish the final list of contestants and begin full election preparations, including voter education, logistics planning, and deployment of sensitive materials such as ballot papers and result sheets. Election officials are assigned to the affected senatorial districts, and security agencies are engaged to maintain order during the process.

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On election day, voting takes place simultaneously across all polling units in the affected senatorial districts. Accredited voters cast their ballots, which are counted at polling units immediately after voting ends. Results are then transmitted through INEC’s designated collation system, moving from ward to local government and finally to the senatorial district collation centre.

The candidate with the highest number of valid votes is declared the winner and returned as senator-elect. INEC then issues a certificate of return, formally confirming the individual’s election to the Senate.

Overall, by-elections are designed to ensure continuity of representation while maintaining the same electoral standards used in general elections.