INEC to conduct Rivers by-election Feb. 21

The by-election for Rivers State House of Assembly are slated to be conducted by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on February 21, 2026.

The by-elections are for Ahoada II and Khana II state constituencies of Rivers State.

A statement by Malam Mohammed Haruna, Chairman, Information, Voter Education and Publicity Committee, in Abuja, said the commission, at its Monday extraordinary meeting, fixed for February 21, 2026 for the by-elections after reviewing its preparations for the end-of-tenure Area Council election for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

He said the commission also considered and approved the draft timetable and schedule of activities for the conduct of by-elections into Ahoada East II and Khana II State Constituencies of Rivers.

He noted that provisions of Section 116 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) empowered the commission to fix dates for elections and conduct by-elections for vacancies.

Haruna said arising therefrom, it had fixed February 21, 2026 for the conduct of the elections into the two state constituencies.

According to him. “The vacancy in the Ahoada East II Constituency arose as a result of the resignation of its member while that of Khana II resulted from the death of its member.

“The Speaker of the State’s House of Assembly had since notified the commission of the existence of the vacancies.

“By the Commission’s decision today, the notice for the two elections will be published on January 22, 2026, while political parties will conduct their party primaries, including the resolution of disputes arising from the primaries, between January 23 and 27, 2026.

“Parties and candidates will then commence their campaigns on February 8, 2026 to end on 19. The elections will hold on February 21, 2026.”

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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