Mixed Reactions Trail By-election Results As APC Dominates
THE ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has reasserted its dominance on the country’s political turf as it won an overwhelming majority of the seats at the legislative by-elections and re-run polls held on Saturday across 12 states of the Federation.
Report stated that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conducted by-elections and re-run polls to fill some vacant national and state legislative seats across 14 states, comprising a total of 7,324 polling units.
While the by-elections were held in 16 constituencies across 12 states of the country, two outstanding court-ordered re-run elections in Enugu South I state constituency of Enugu state and the Ghari/Tsanyawa state constituency in Kano state were also conducted.
The vacancies for the by-elections followed the deaths and resignations of lawmakers, while the re-run polls followed the earlier violent disruption of the exercise.
The results declared by INEC showed that the APC won in 12 constituencies, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) won in two, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) won in one, and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) won in one.
In Edo State, INEC declared the APC candidate, Dr Joseph Ikpea, the winner of the by-election for Edo Central Senatorial District. He scored 105,129 votes to defeat his closest rival, Joe Okojie of PDP, who had 15,146 votes.
Also, the electoral umpire announced Hon. Omosede Igbinedion of the APC, who garnered 77,053 votes, as the winner of the Ovia federal constituency polls, while the PDP candidate, Johnny Aikpitanyi, followed with 3,838 votes.
In Jigawa, the APC candidate, Mukhtar Rabi’u Garki was declared the winner of the by-election for Garki/Babura federal constituency with 38,449 votes against the PDP) candidate, Isa Auwalu who scored 13,519 votes.
In Ogun, INEC declared the APC candidate, Hon. Adesola Ayoola Elegbeji, winner of the Ikenne, Sagamu, Remo North Federal constituency by-election, who polled a total of 41,237 votes to defeat her closest rival, Bola Oluwole of the PDP, who got 14,324 votes.
In Kaduna, the APC swept the House of Representatives and State House of Assembly bye-elections into Chikun/Kajuru federal constituency, and Zaria Kewaye and Basawa state constituencies.
The APC candidate Felix Bagudu was declared the winner of the Chikun/Kajuru federal constituency with 34,580 votes, defeating Esther Ashivelli Dawaki of the PDP, who got 11,491 votes.
Also, INEC declared APC candidate, Isa Haruna Ihamo winner of Zaria Kewaye constituency with 26,613 votes to beat his closest challenger, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Nuhu Sada Abdullahi who polled 5,721 votes.
Similarly, in Basawa federal constituency, the APC candidate, Hon. Sani Dahiru, garnered 10,926 votes, defeating the PDP candidate, Muazu Danyaro, who secured 5,499 votes to come second.
In Niger State, the APC candidate, Mathew Dogara Daje was declared winner of Munya state constituency by-election, having obtained 12,556 votes to defeat his closest rival, the candidate of PDP, Sabo Sunday Adabyinlo who got 5, 646 votes.
For Taraba State, INEC declared Abner Shittu, candidate of APC, the winner of the Karim I state constituency by-election with 5,901 votes to defeat his closest challenger from PDP, Ali Kanda, who secured 5,527 votes.
In Kogi, INEC declared the APC candidate of Hassan Shado, winner of the by-election for the Okura state constituency, having scored a total of 55,073 votes against the candidate of PDP, Meliga Godwin who polled 1,038 votes to come second while the candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Joseph Egene came third with 445 votes.
In Adamawa, the APC candidate for the Ganye state constituency by-election, Hon. Misa Musa Jauro won with 16,923 votes to defeat his opponent, Buba Muhammad Joda of the PDP who got 16,794 votes.
In Anambra, the APGA won the two legislative seats contested in the by-elections in the South East state. The party’s candidate for the Anambra South Senatorial district, Emmanuel Nwachikwu, defeated the APC candidate, Azuka Okwuosa, with 90,408 votes against 19,812 votes, respectively.
Also, the APGA candidate for Onitsha North 1 state Assembly constituency seat, Mimih Azikiwe, garnered 7,774 votes, beating Justina Azuka of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), who scored 1,909 votes.
In Oyo, INEC declared the PDP candidate, Folajimi Oyekunle, popularly known as ‘Don,’ the winner of the keenly contested Ibadan North federal constituency by-election. The result showed that Folajimi polled 18,404 votes to defeat his closest rival from the APC, Adewale Olatunji (Murphy) who got 8,312 votes.
In Kano, the NNPP candidate Ali Lawal Al-Hassan was declared the winner of the Bagwai/Shanono State Assembly by-election with 16,198 votes, defeating the APC candidate Abdullahi Muhammed, who obtained 5,347 votes.
On the other hand, the APC candidate, Ya’u Garba Gwarmai, garnered 31,472 votes to defeat the NNPP candidate, Muhammed Yusuf Ali, with 27,931 votes in the re-run polls for the Ghari/Tsanyawa state constituency of Kano.
For Enugu South I state constituency, the rerun election in eight polling units was stalled, making it the fourth time the exercise could not be held.
Reports say that Bright Ngene of the Labour Party had earlier defeated his closest rival and PDP’s Sam Ngene during the 2023 general election but the latter approached the election tribunal, praying that the court declare the election inconclusive.
The appellate tribunal ruled in his favour, ordering a rerun in eight polling units but the exercise did not hold as rescheduled.
Resident Electoral Commissioner for Enugu State, Chukwuemeka Chukwu said the commission deployed men and materials as early as 7am on Saturday but that: “As you can see here, people are not voting because some people are carrying placards. Even people who are not supposed to be here are here.”
INEC Declares Zamfara Assembly By-election Result Inconclusive
Meanwhile, INEC has declared the Kaura-Namoda South constituency for Zamfara State House of Assembly by- election inconclusive.
The returning officer, Professor Lawal Sa’adu of the Federal University Gusau, who announced the election results at about 1:30am on Sunday, cited irregularities in five Polling Units of Sakajiki and Kyambarawa wards as some of the reasons for declaring the result inconclusive.
He further said the margin between the leading political party, APC, and the runner-up, PDP, is less than the total number of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) collected in the polling units where the election was cancelled.
Sa’adu added that 5,446 voters were registered across the affected Registration Areas (wards) with 3,265 PVCs collected.
The earlier results showed that APC was leading with 7, 001 votes, while PDP followed with 5,339 votes.
INEC said a new date for the rerun election in the five affected polling units across Sakajiki and Kyambarawa wards would be announced later.
Opposition Rejects Polls in Kano, Edo, Jigawa, Others
Meanwhile, opposition parties, including the NNPP, PDP Labour Party (LP), and the ADC, have criticised the outcome of the elections in Kano, Edo, and Jigawa.
The Kano State chapter of the NNPP rejected the results of the Tsanyawa/Ghari rerun election, citing alleged manipulation and connivance with INEC officials to declared APC the winner of the by-election in the area.
The party’s state chairman, Hashimu Dungurawa, described the act as a complete denial of the electorate’s right to vote.
Dungurawa alleged that while the election was supposed to occur in the 10 polling units, INEC cancelled the results and reverted to the old result nullified by the court.
He said, “NNPP as a party will continue to fight injustice, favouritism, and election manipulations against anybody who feels he can use the federal might to disenfranchise the good people of Kano state.”
PDP in the state also rejected the outcome of the re-run elections for the Bagwai/Shanono and Ghari/Tsanyawa state constituencies, citing widespread irregularities and violence.
The party claimed that the electoral process was marred by thuggery, saying political thugs were seen intimidating eligible voters, rendering the exercise ridiculous.
The party chairman, Yusuf Kibiya, who stated this while addressing newsmen at the weekend, described the process as “totally devoid of all democratic processes.”
He called on INEC to provide a level playing field for all parties, insisting that the current situation undermines the integrity of the electoral process.
The PDP caretaker committee secretary, Chris Nehikhare said democracy in Nigeria was under siege following the outcome of the by-elections in Ovia federal constituency and Edo Central senatorial district.
BVAs failure, a deliberate excuse to rig Jigawa by-election
Nehikhare, while reacting to the election, described as deliberate the excuse of technical failure of the BVAS machine as a premeditated attempt by INEC to sabotage and manipulate the election in favour of the APC.
The PDP in Jigawa State rejected the outcome of the by-election, noting that it fell far below acceptable standards and cannot be accepted in any ideal democratic society.
The PDP Jigawa State publicity secretary, Umar Madamuwa, in a statement issued to journalists in Dutse on Sunday , said the party possessed substantial evidence demonstrating how APC deployed public resources for partisan interests, including vote-buying during the election.
Reacting to the polls, Labour Party (LP) described the exercise as “nothing short of a mockery of democracy, a travesty of justice against the Nigerian people, and a dangerous dress rehearsal of what may befall us in 2027.”
The party, in a terse statement on Sunday evening by Senior Special Adviser, Media, Ken Asogwa, to the interim national chairman, Nenadi Usman, said the election was marred by large-scale rigging, brazen vote-buying, and violence.
APC agents, INEC staff complicit in electoral heist – LP
It identified APC agents, INEC officials, and security agents detailed to ensure a smooth election process as masterminds of the “shameful acts that desecrated our electoral space.”
The Labour said INEC under Prof Mahmoud Yakubu has failed to redeem its image even after its performance in the 2023 elections where it displayed “brazen electoral heist that robbed the Labour Party and the Nigerian people of their mandate.
Also, the ADC expressed grave concern at the conduct of the by-elections, saying it exposed how far Nigeria’s electoral process had deteriorated under Tinubu and the ruling APC.
Election riddled with violence, vote buying – ADC
In a statement issued on Sunday by the ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party noted that the elections were riddled with widely reported violence, vote buying, manipulation, and other administrative lapses.
The ADC noted that the party did not field candidates for most of the positions contested in the by-election. “Therefore, with all its flaws and irregularities, this election should not be seen as a measure of the strength or capacity of the opposition coalition, but rather as a sad reflection of how far the system has been corrupted against the will of the people.
Thugs imported from neighbouring countries – Minister
For its part, APC) in Kano accused the ruling NNPP of importing armed thugs from neighbouring states and countries to disrupt the just concluded Saturday election in Bagwai/Shanono.
This was contained in press briefing on Sunday in Kano by the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Yusuf Abdullahi Ata on the outcome of Bagwai/Shanono State Assembly by-election.
The minister further alleged that the NNPP took over the polling units, hijacked the sensitive ballot materials and result sheets, thumb printed the ballot papers and allocated votes to their party
“No credible election took place in Shanono/Bagwai,” he declared.
The APC called INEC to immediately cancel the election and fix another date for the conduct of a fresh, free, fair and transparent election for the people of Bagwai/Shanono.
CSOs Pick Holes
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have expressed worry at the conduct of the exercise and called for improvements in the build-up to the 2027 general election.
Civil Society Organisations on Community Advancement and Humanitarian Empowerment Initiatives (CSCHEI) faulted INEC over poor communication and voter education strategies.
In a statement signed by its director general, Kunle Yusuff, the organisation praised its alliance members — comprising civil society organisations (CSOs) and community-based organisations (CBOs) — for their “dedication and commitment to ensuring the electoral process was transparent, free, and fair.”
CSCHEI equally lauded INEC officials, security agencies, and other stakeholders for their efforts during the polls.
However, the group expressed concern at the low voter turnout, stressing that INEC must urgently review and strengthen its communication strategy to enhance citizens’ participation in future elections.
Tinubu, Speaker Abbas Congratulate Winners, Hail INEC
Despite opposition criticisms, President Bola Tinubu, has congratulated all the winners of the by-elections in 16 constituencies across 12 states.
In a statement by Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga on Sunday, the President commended INEC for the hitch-free elections, mostly devoid of violence.
Tinubu congratulated the new APC national chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, for the emphatic first victory recorded under his leadership.
He also congratulated the APC governors and other leaders on the success of the by-elections.
“Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda has shown leadership capacity and demonstrated what is achievable when popular candidates are fielded and with unity of purpose among party leaders,” the President remarked.
Similarly, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, has congratulated APC on its victory at the by-elections in Zaria Kewaye state constituency, Basawa state constituency and Chikun/Kajuru federal Constituency.
In a congratulatory message through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Musa Krishi, the speaker specifically felicitated with the APC candidate for Zaria Kewaye, Hon. Mohammed (Ihamo), describing him as the right man for the job.
He also described the victory of the candidates for Chikun/Kajuru federal constituency, Hon. Bagudu, and that of Basawa state constituency, Hon. Dahiru as well-deserved.
Losing ADC candidate congratulates APC winner
This is just as the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate for the Chikun/Kajuru federal constituency bye-election, Hon. Alexander Adanu, expressed appreciation to his supporters and congratulated the winner of the contest, Bagudu.
Adanu in statement issued to journalists on Sunday described the electioneering journey as one of “passion, purpose, and profound teamwork,” adding that he remains humbled by the resilience and support of the people of the constituency.
The ADC flag bearer also commended members of his campaign team for their sacrifices and commitment, which he described as the “driving force” behind the campaign.
While congratulating Hon. Fidelis Bagudu on his victory, Adanu said, “Your triumph is a testament to the will of the people, and I wish you a successful tenure.”
Our Overwhelming Victory At By-election, Endorsement Of Tinubu Govt – APC
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has praised Nigerians for their decisive support which resulted in massive triumph of its candidates in last Saturday’s legislative by-elections conducted across twelve states of the Federation.
APC said victory is yet another solid endorsement of President Bola Tinubu administration and its Renewed Hope Agenda designed to deliver, and now steadily delivering transformation of our country’s economy and other sectors of our national life.
In a statement by its national publicity secretary, Felix Morka, the party commended the president who is leader of APC for creating a level playing field for the by-election contest, as well as the party’s governors, other leaders, members and supporters for their sacrificial efforts and contribution towards this electoral victory.
“Our hearty congratulations go to our victorious candidates across the country, and we charge them to reward their constituents with purposeful legislative interventions that translate Renewed Hope Agenda to meaningful benefits for the people.
“We specially congratulate our national chairman, Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, on this crucial first dominant victory under his eminent leadership as National Chairman. It is a strong pointer to greater things to come.
“The party applauds the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for its successful conduct of the by-elections, and hails all security agencies for maintaining peace and order, despite cases of election violence and voters suppression in some districts.
“Again, our deepest gratitude remains with the Nigerian electorate and we urge all Nigerians to sustain their support for our great Party and Mr President as he continues to pave a clear and steady path of prosperity for this and future generations,” the statement reads.
Similarly, the political camp of Ogun state governor, Dapo Abiodun has expressed joy over the victory of the APC, Hon. Adesola Elegbeji at bye-election for Remo federal constituency of the state.
Governor Abiodun attributed the victory achieved by his party in the by-election to the deliberate efforts of his administration towards improving lives of the people and transforming the state through aggressive infrastructural development.
Addressed journalists in Iperu to celebrate the victory of the party’s flagbearer, Elegbeji, he said the people of Remo federal constituency “have spoken loudly” stressing that the election was, “a referendum on the government’s exceptional strides in governance” notwithstanding the “desperate attempts by unscrupulous people to intimidate, harass, and compromise the electorate with unholy inducements.’’
(Leadership News)
