The Enugu South Urban State Constituency is among the constituencies where INEC has scheduled a bye-election for August 16, 2025.
It will be the fourth attempt to conclude the election after three failed efforts since the 2023 general polls.
So what has really gone wrong
It’s been over 16 months since Enugu South Urban State Constituency last had a voice in the State Assembly.
The 2023 election was nullified by the tribunal, which ruled that the number of cancelled votes were greater than the margin between the top two candidates—Bright Ngene of the Labour Party, who polled 5,862 votes, and Sam Ngene of the PDP, who had 2,098.
The court ordered a rerun in eight polling units, with over 4,600 registered voters.
But holding that rerun has been an uphill task as the first attempt in February 3, 2024 was suspended when result sheets reportedly went missing.
The second, on February 14, 2024 was disrupted by violence as hoodlums destroyed voting materials whereas the third, planned for June 8, 2024 , did not happen; this time due to mistrust over the INEC officials assigned to conduct the poll.
Now, the fourth attempt is scheduled for August 16, 2025, and the electoral umpire is making a fresh appeal.
At a stakeholders’ meeting on Wednesday, INEC urged political actors and the community to support a peaceful and credible process.
With just weeks to go, all eyes are on INEC, security agencies, and the political parties to finally get it right so that Enugu South Urban can have the representation it has long missed.
The hope now is that this rerun will hold peacefully and put an end to what has become one of the longest-running constituency election disputes
Editor : Ena Agbanoma
