Ogun by-election: INEC distributes sensitive materials, deploys 2,445 officers 

Ahead of Saturday by-election into the House of Representatives in Remo Federal Constituency, the Ogun State Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has deployed 2,445 officers to conduct the election.

The State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mrs Faseyi Feyijimi, disclosed this on Friday, during the distribution of sensitive materials for the election.

The seat became vacant following the death of the former Deputy Majority Whip, Hon. Adewunmi Oriyomi Onanuga, who died last January.

The REC who supervised the distribution and movement of the materials from the Central Bank of Nigeria, Abeokuta branch, to the Constituency, promised that the election would be a transparent process.

Representatives of political parties participating in the election were on the ground to monitor the exercise.

She said the INEC officers have been trained and warned not to engage in any infraction, saying any staff found culpable of committing any infraction would face the music.

 ‎”Today we are at the CBN to pick sensitive materials – the result sheets and ballot papers.  The non-sensitive materials have been distributed to the local government areas earlier.  The critical stakeholders are here; members of the inter-agency consultative committee on election security are all here. We have the supporting Resident Electoral Commissioner from Lagos who is also here, and we have the political parties present. 

‎”The usual practice is to distribute materials in the open so that everybody can see.  And all can see that the materials have not been opened, and pictures have been taken for everybody to see that we are doing it in a transparent manner 

‎”We promise to be fair, to be just and be open to all. Every exercise that we do, we publish it.  We have a platform for the media and we have platform for the security agencies.  We tell them that at every point in time what we are going to do. That is why they are all here, and we have made it so open. Even in the local governments where elections are taking place, our officers in conjunction with the National Orientation Agency (NOA) have been sensitising the people.  Nothing is hidden and our doors are open. 

‎”The ad hoc staff we have trained, some of them are already on their way to their centres.  The election commences 8:30am tomorrow in all polling centres and ends 2:30pm, but if you are on the queue at the close of the poll, you would be allowed to vote.  We have officials to do the job.  We have trained 2,445 officials as of Friday, August 15. We have our BIVAS ready, and we have back-ups. 

‎”On our part, we are committed to be transparent.  We are not going to defend anybody (staffer) who goes out to engage in any infraction.  We have warned our staff that everybody should do what is right.  Anybody caught doing any infraction (is on his or her own) because the National Chairman has also warned us that anybody doing any infraction will not be spared.”

Meanwhile, the Ogun State Police Command said it has deployed an adequate number of personnel for the election.

The Commissioner of Police, CP Lanre Ogunlowo, urged the officers to be civil and neutral in the discharge of their duties.

He explained that the Command is collaborating with other security agencies, and additional manpower from Zone 2 Command, Lagos, and has put in place robust security measures to prevent election-related violence and ensure a safe and secure environment before, during and after the election.

He said, “To ensure a credible, transparent, and violence-free election, voters are enjoined to adhere to the electoral laws. Acts such as campaign, vote-buying, distribution of flyers, or display of political stickers at polling areas are prohibited.

“Movement in areas where elections will hold will be restricted from 0000hrs to 1600hrs on 16th August 2025. Police patrol vehicles, stop and search teams and other operational units will be strategically deployed to guarantee a smooth and hitch-free exercise.

“The Ogun State Police Command appeals for the cooperation of all voters and warns individuals with malicious intentions to stay away from polling units as any attempt to disrupt the process will be met with decisive action,” he said.

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