Damaturu: The Yobe State Independent Electoral Commission has commenced the screening of candidates contesting the chairmanship, vice-chairmanship and councillorship positions ahead of the local government elections in the state.
The Executive Chairman of the commission, Dr Ibrahim Yabani, disclosed this during a press briefing at the SIEC conference hall in Damaturu, where he outlined the schedule of activities leading to the polls.
Yabani said the screening exercise would run from September 1 to 7, 2026, in line with the commission’s guidelines.
He explained that councillorship aspirants were being screened across the state’s three designated zones, with Zone A in Damaturu, Zone B in Potiskum, and Zone C covering Bade and Nguru Local Government Areas.
He added that chairmanship and vice-chairmanship candidates were being screened at the SIEC headquarters in Damaturu.
The SIEC chairman stressed that the screening process was being conducted strictly in accordance with constitutional provisions.
He said, “The screening guidelines are very clear; it is adopted from the Constitution. The 1999 Constitution as amended clearly gives us the qualifications of who is going to stand and qualify to stand for the election for Chairman, Vice Chairman, and Councilors in any of the Local Government Areas in Nigeria.
Yabani also announced that political parties would commence campaigns from September 18 to 25, 2026.
He said the commission had trained electoral officers across the state’s 17 local government areas in preparation for the elections.
According to him, the officers had been equipped to effectively handle the electoral process.
He further disclosed that election materials were scheduled to be deployed on September 24, ahead of the polls.
The commission fixed September 26, 2026, for the conduct of the local government elections across the state.
