The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) dominated Saturday’s by-elections, clinching key victories in Ondo, Nasarawa, Kano, Kebbi, and Enugu states.
Meanwhile, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) managed to retain its hold on the Rivers South-East Senatorial District.
According to results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday, these wins have bolstered the APC’s legislative majority nationwide.
However, the elections were not without controversy, as several contests were marred by allegations of voter intimidation, violence, and electoral irregularities.
Key individual results from the polls include:
*Nasarawa North Senatorial District: APC’s Danladi Halilu secured victory with 45,362 votes, defeating Labaran Maku of the Labour Party (LP) and Emmanuel Ombugadu of the PDP.
*Kano State: Rabiu Shuaibu of the APC achieved a landslide victory in the Dawakin Kudu/Warawa Federal Constituency.
*Enugu North Senatorial District: APC’s Ikeje Asogwa was officially declared the winner.
*Rivers South-East Senatorial District: PDP’s Olaka Nwogu comfortably defended his seat across seven local government areas, defeating his APC opponent by a wide margin.
The Returning Officer, Prof. Aminu Ali, announced the final results at the collation centre at College of Education, Akwanga, on Sunday, after votes were collated from Akwanga, Nasarawa Eggon and Wamba local government areas.
Declaring the results, Prof Ali said:“Danladi Envulu-anza of the APC scored 45,362 votes, Labaran Maku of the Labour Party scored 12,931 votes, and Emmanuel David Ombugadu of the PDP got 11,570 votes.
“The ADC candidate, Alaku Mohammed Steve, scored 1,496 votes, and John Paul of the NNPP got 102 votes.”
Meanwhile, agents of the LP at the collation had centre staged a walkout in protest over the results and the collation process.
Dr Ben Ango, who led the LP team, walked out alongside other party members shortly after collation for the three LGAs in the district was completed.
Following the announcement, Labaran Maku rejected the results and demanded a total cancellation of the by-election, citing widespread irregularities.
Speaking at a media briefing from his country home in Wakama, Nasarawa Eggon Local Government Area, the former Minister of Information accused INEC officials of abandoning electoral laws and collaborating with the Nasarawa State government to compromise the vote.
“What took place in this by-election was a complete sham,” Maku said.
“After consulting with my party, we decided our best option was to pull out and ask INEC to honorably cancel the election and conduct a free and fair process for the senatorial district.”
The Labour Party candidate claimed that voting failed to take place in many areas, alleging that ballot papers were illegally thumb-printed.
He specifically noted that elections in the Alizaga, Umme, and Alushi wards of Nasarawa Eggon LGA were conducted without using BVAS machines.
In response, the APC State Publicity Secretary, Augustine Ogaba, dismissed Maku’s claims, urging the opposition candidate to accept the outcome of the democratic process.
According to him, the minister’s waning popularity in the senatorial zone could not have earned him victory during the by-election, especially because he had not been stable in a political party within the past few months.
Ogaba said:“It is funny for anyone to accuse the APC of any form of irregularity during the by-election because if you put all the results of the opposition parties together, it is not even half of what our candidate scored.
“For the opposition, it is only when they win an election that it is free and fair. If they lose, they will find a reason to complain about the process.
“My advice to the former minister is for him to learn from the process and prepare for another time. He should go back home and do his homework so that he can come out stronger next time instead of complaining for no obvious reason.”
INEC officially declared the results of the Enugu North by-election in the early hours of Sunday at its Enugu office.
The INEC Returning Officer, Prof. Christian Ezebe, certified that the APC’s Ikeje Asogwa polled 162,360 votes to claim victory.
Out of the 184,094 accredited voters who turned out for the election, his closest rival, Dr. Nestor Ezeme of the PDP, finished a distant second with 9,299 votes.