The focus is once again on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as they oversee the governorship and state house of assembly polls across Nigeria, following the recent presidential and National Assembly elections which have received mixed reactions from stakeholders both domestically and internationally.
Originally planned for March 11th, the state-centred elections were delayed by a week due to the need to reconfigure the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices in the aftermath of the presidential election.
Nigerians are hoping for a smooth and successful election, with a total of 87.2 million registered voters eligible to cast their ballots having collected their permanent voter cards (PVCs).
Governorship elections will take place in 28 of Nigeria’s 36 states, while the remaining eight will have their elections at different times over the next four years due to legal disputes and court rulings. Meanwhile, all 36 states will elect representatives for the state house of assembly, with thousands of candidates competing for 993 seats.