Edo Assembly Directs EDSIEC To Hold By-elections For Vacant Council Seats

The Edo State House of Assembly has ordered the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission (EDSIEC) to conduct by-elections to fill vacant councillor seats across several wards in the state.

The resolution followed a motion moved by the Majority Leader, Jonathan Ibhamahu, and seconded by Addeh Isibor, during plenary in Benin City.

Lawmakers said some councillors had abandoned their duty posts since January 2025, a violation of Section 12(1) of the Edo State Local Government Law 2000, which allows a councillor’s seat to be declared vacant if he or she fails to attend one-third of council meetings within a year.

Ibhamahu said the absence of the councillors had denied residents of the affected wards the dividends of democracy, stressing that meaningful development cannot take place when elected representatives abandon their duties. Isibor backed the call, describing the actions of the councillors as harmful to local government administration.

The directive is linked to the political crisis that hit all 18 local government areas after Governor Monday Okpebholo’s administration suspended council chairmen, a move that many councillors opposed.

The motion for the by-elections was unanimously adopted by the lawmakers.

Meanwhile, the Assembly also acknowledged a letter from Governor Okpebholo forwarding five additional commissioner-nominees and four nominees for chairman and members of the Edo State Civil Service Commission for screening and confirmation.

In another development, the House passed a bill repealing the Edo State Gaming Law 2020 and establishing a new Edo State Lottery Law, which creates the Edo State Lottery Regulatory Commission and the Edo State Lottery Trust Fund.