Imo postpones LG election again, no new date set
- Imo's electoral commission has called off the 7 November council polls, the second postponement this year.
- Chairman Charles Ejiogu gave no fresh date but said a new timetable will come soon.
- The two-year tenure of the 27 councils' last elected chairmen and councillors expired in September 2024.
The Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC) has postponed the local government election that was due to hold on Saturday, 7 November 2026. It is the second time the council poll has been pushed back this year, and no new date has been announced.
ISIEC chairman Charles Ejiogu announced the decision at a stakeholders' meeting in Owerri on Saturday. He said the commission was "constrained to announce that the election will not hold" but promised a fresh date, timetable and guidelines "within the shortest possible time."
The meeting drew the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), which is the umbrella body of registered political parties, party chairmen in the state, traditional rulers, faith leaders, women and youth groups, aspirants and the media.
Why the poll keeps moving
The commission had announced its readiness to conduct the polls on 26 September 2026. According to Ejiogu, that date did not sit well with some stakeholders, and some IPAC members went to court to press for more time on the timetable. The commission then met the parties and moved the poll to 7 November.
Punch reported that Saturday's decision followed those consultations, with IPAC having opposed the earlier timetable. Vanguard reported that Ejiogu did not give a specific reason for the latest postponement.
The council polls are meant to cover 4,758 polling units and 305 wards across the 27 local government areas of the state.
The delay matters for residents because the two-year tenure of the 27 council chairmen and councillors elected on 21 September 2024 and sworn in on 30 September 2024 has expired.
What happens next
Ejiogu said ISIEC is working with the police, army, navy, air force, Department of State Services (DSS) and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to set up an Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security ahead of the vote.
He urged IPAC to sign and uphold a peace accord, and warned against destroying campaign posters, hate speech and violence. The commission, he said, belongs to no political party and will give all parties a level playing field.
