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The Edo State chapter of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, has said it would not be participating in the Saturday, September 20, 2025 local government bye-election in the state.
DAILY POST reports that the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission, EDSIEC would be conducting by-elections to fill councillorship seats allegedly abdicated by elected officers across 15 local government areas of the state.
Edo State ADC chairman Kennedy Odion disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Benin City.
Odion said the party was not aware of the bye-election as there was no notification from the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission, EDSIEC.
“We are not aware of the election. There is no notification from EDSIEC to us as a party. We don’t know if they are doing any election this coming Saturday.
“Ordinarily if you have an election the procedure is to notify all the stakeholders including the political parties. Conduct political parties and other stakeholders’ engagement with the commission, after which an election guidelines would be released.
“So none of this was served to us as a party and we don’t even know the official preparation of the commission whether they have any vacancies anywhere to be contested for.
“So, they are running things in their own ways. So, we are not aware,” he said.
Odion, who described ADC as a party of renewed hope for good governance and accountability, opined that it was different from the Renewed Hope Agenda atbeing celebrated by the All Progressives Congress, APC, that allegedly lacked direction.
According to him, the ADC renewed hope agenda was to entrench government that is accountable to the people and liberate them from the shackles of corruption and misgovernance.
He added that the party is gaining momentum in the state since its adoption as a coalition platform by the former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi and David Mark, among others.
Odion stressed that the main preoccupation of the party at the moment is to build solid structures across the 18 local government areas of the state
“We are excited and happy with the development in our party at the state level particularly since the unveiling of the Coalition and the chosen of the party as the platform for the coalition.
“By God’s grace, we have been faring well and the activities of the party have also increased because on a daily basis you see people trooping into the party’s secretariat to identify with us and pick up their membership cards.
“The party is gaining momentum at the state level, giving us structures where we have none before.
“But our concentration is building the party’s structures that have a solid foundation where Nigerians can be liberated politically and economically,” he said.
“If you want to generalize the happenings in ADC at the moment you can see that the movement is a tsunami and people movement. You can’t even tell what is driving the movement.
“When the recognition of the leadership of our party was announced by INEC recently, come and see the calls people are calling from everywhere.
“That means that Nigerians are happy and their hope is renewed on ADC. So, for me before the middle of 2026 it would be cleared to the whole world that ADC is the party that Nigerians have long been waiting for.
“ADC is not just for Nigerians but for the whole African nation. This party will help Africa to emacipate themselves from the anti-democratic process of governance”, he added.
Odion urged Nigerians not to be discouraged in the nation’s electoral process, noting that democracy in the country is a work in progress.
He opined that with resilience and commitment, Nigerians would achieve the democracy of their dreams where the rule of laws and good governance would be the watchword.
