The All Progressives Congress (APC) secured four of the five legislative seats contested in Saturday’s by-elections across Gombe, Kano, Bauchi and Delta states, while the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) won the remaining seat.
The polls, conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on September 19, comprised one House of Representatives seat and four State House of Assembly seats.
In Gombe State, APC candidate Kallamu Usman MaiJama’a won the Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency seat with 41,121 votes. The Labour Party candidate polled 3,553 votes, while the APM secured 872.
In Kano, APC’s Husseini Datti emerged winner of the Dawakin Kudu State Constituency by-election with 22,890 votes. The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) polled 270 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored 108 votes. The Action Democratic Party (ADP), Action Peoples Party (APP) and Labour Party recorded 89, 53 and 39 votes respectively.
The APC also retained the Udu State Constituency seat in Delta, where its candidate, Okolosi Ator, polled 8,724 votes to defeat the PDP candidate, who scored 214 votes.
Bauchi produced a split result, with the APC and APM sharing the two seats contested.
APC candidate Yakubu Ali won the Disina State Constituency election with 5,846 votes, ahead of the APM candidate with 5,225 votes and the PRP candidate with 3,701 votes.
However, the APM clinched the Sakwa State Constituency seat in Zaki Local Government Area, with its candidate, Adamu Yakubu, securing 8,515 votes. The APC polled 3,771 votes, followed by the PDP with 2,076 and the PRP with 727.
The elections were generally reported to have been peaceful, although low voter turnout was recorded in Gombe and Kano, while challenges involving the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) were reported in Delta.
In Bauchi, the state police command said 47 suspects were arrested across some polling units in Shira Local Government Area. The suspects allegedly posed as members of a state-owned security outfit and were reportedly found in possession of guns, cutlasses and sticks.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, said the by-elections would provide the commission with operational lessons as it prepares for the 2027 general elections.
