The local council elections have commenced across the 25 councils in Niger State today, November 1, 2025.

A visit by The Guardian to the Central polling unit, Gidan Badidi Polling Unit, as well as Dan Eya Polling Unit in Lapai Local Council, showed that electoral officials at various polling units expressed satisfaction with the process.

The officials say the peaceful atmosphere recorded was a result of sensitisation and awareness campaigns undertaken by the stakeholders in the area.

The agents of SDP, APC, and PDP, who spoke to The Guardian, stated that voting materials arrived at the polling units as early as 8 am, adding that accreditation and voting commenced simultaneously.

Stakeholders from the three political parties expressed optimism about the process and commended the state electoral commission for the early distribution of election materials.

Recall that Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago had declared Thursday, October 30, and Friday, October 31, 2025, as public holidays ahead of the local council elections. He, however, exempted essential service providers.

According to the statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Bologi Ibrahim, Bago added, “We have declared Thursday and Friday as public holidays, but those who are handling essential services like hospitals, banks, and security are exempted from the public holiday.”

The governor, however, encouraged the electorate to come out en masse to vote for candidates of their choice in a peaceful and harmonious manner for the progress of Niger State.

For the election, The Guardian reported that the Niger State Police Command deployed three Deputy Commissioners of Police to the three senatorial districts of the state.

The spokesman of the command, SP Wasiu Abiodun, in a statement, said, “This is in addition to massive deployment of police personnel and operational assets including tactical teams such as 12pmf, 61pmf, Counter terrorism unit (CTU), EOD-CBRN, Special protection unit (SPU), Tactical support team (TST), Crack squad, and Anti-kidnapping unit, as well as other security agencies under Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to provide security coverage at all the (4,950) polling units and (274) wards of the 25 local councils in the state.”

Abiodun further noted that an Operation Order for the election duty has been issued to all Area Commanders, Tactical Commanders, and DPOs, stressing that their specific responsibilities include escorting and protecting both sensitive and non-sensitive materials, as well as providing a conducive environment for eligible voters to exercise their franchise.

The Commissioner of Police had reiterated the command’s readiness to provide adequate security for a peaceful and credible election.

The police boss, however, advised all the political parties to play by the rules and warned youths or anyone who may want to foment trouble that security agencies will not hesitate to clamp down on such persons.