Bye-elections: How APC won 4 seats, APM one

•APC’s votes spread in bye-elections significant for 2027 race – Keyamo

By Jimitota Onoyume, Omeiza Ajayi, Ben Ngwakwe, Hadiza Yusuf & Christopher Ameh

THE All Progressives Congress, APC, had the upper hand in Saturday’s bye-elections across four states of Delta, Kano, Bauchi and Gombe, winning four of the five slots contested. The Allied People’s Movement, APM, won one slot in Bauchi.

Okolosi of APC wins Udu state assembly seat in Delta 

In Delta, Mr. Ator Okolosi of the APC emerged the winner of the House of Assembly bye-election for Udu state Constituency 

According to the result by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Okolosi,  who had 8,724 votes, defeated his closest rival of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, George Orugbo who scored 212 votes.  Omovie Esther of the APM had 33 votes. 

APC chairman commends INEC, security agencies.

APC’s Datti polls 22,890 votes in  Kano

The APC also won the Dawakin Kudu/Warawa State Constituency bye-election in Kano State, with its candidate, Hussaini Yusuf Datti, securing 22,890 votes.

Datti emerged winner ahead of the other candidates who contested the election.

The results showed that the PDP polled 180 votes, while the Peoples Redemption Party, PRP, received 270 votes.

The Action Peoples Party, APP, recorded 53 votes, while the Labour Party , LP, secured 39 votes.

APC’s Kallamu wins in Gombe

In Gombe, the APC, candidate, Engr. Usman Maijama’a Kallamu, won the Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency bye-election

Kallamu emerged victorious after polling 41,121 votes to defeat candidates of the other political parties that participated in the election.

The bye-election was conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to fill the vacant seat in the House of Representatives following the death of the former member representing the constituency, Hon. Yaya Bauchi Tongo.

According to the results announced by INEC, a total of 47,301 votes were cast in the election, while 46,551 votes were declared valid and 750 votes were rejected.

In Bauchi, the APC and APM shared the two state assembly seats -Disina State Constituency of Shira Local Government Area and the Sakwa State Constituency of Zaki Local Government Area.

In Disina, the APC candidate, Yakubu Ali, won with 5,846 votes, defeating his APM counterpart, who polled 5,225 votes.

However, the APM secured victory in Sakwa, where its candidate, Adamu Yakubu, recorded 8,515 votes against the APC candidate’s 3,771 votes.

The two vacancies arose from separate circumstances. The Sakwa seat became vacant following the death of the former lawmaker, Hon. Mohammad Wanzam Zaki, while the Disina seat was declared vacant after the incumbent legislator resigned to contest a local government chairmanship election.

National Chairman of the APC, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, commended the INEC and security agencies for their roles in the conduct of the five legislative bye-elections, in which the ruling party won four of the contested seats.

Yilwatda, in a statement issued via his X handle, congratulated the four APC candidates who emerged victorious in the bye-elections conducted by INEC.

He named the winners as Kallamu Usman MaiJama’a of Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency, Gombe State;  Husseini Datti of Dawakin Kudu State Constituency, Kano State;  Okolosi Ator of Udu State Constituency, Delta State; and Yakubu Ali of Disina State Constituency, Bauchi State.

“These victories reflect the confidence placed in our candidates and the APC by the electorate,” the APC 

Yilwatda also praised the electoral umpire and other stakeholders for ensuring a credible process. 

“I also commend INEC, the security agencies and all stakeholders for their roles in the conduct of the elections,” he stated.

Addressing the victorious candidates directly, the national chairman urged them to see their wins as a call to service. 

“To our victorious candidates, this  victory is a call to service. I urge you to remain humble and committed to delivering purposeful representation to your constituents,” he said.

APC’s votes spread in bye-elections significant for 2027 race — Keyamo

Also, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN,  declared that the geographical spread of votes won by the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Saturday’s bye-elections carried significant implications for the 2027 presidential election.

Keyamo, in a post on X, said the APC won the contested seats in the North-West (Kano); North-East (Bauchi and Gombe); and South-South (Delta, his home state), losing only one State Assembly constituency in Bauchi to the Allied Peoples Movement, APM.

“In less than three months to the general elections, the APC has just won bye-elections in four out of five Federal and State Assembly constituencies in 3 regions in the country, namely North-West (Kano), North-East (Bauchi and Gombe) and South-South (Delta). APC lost one State Assembly constituency in Bauchi to the APM,” he wrote.

The minister argued that the spread of the votes, rather than the numbers alone, was what made the outcome noteworthy going into the general election, which he said would hold in January.

“The spread of those votes for the APC across the three regions is very significant going into the general elections in January. The makers of our Constitution that insisted that, for someone to be President of Nigeria, you have to secure 25 percent of the votes in two-third of the States in the country were no fools, taking into account the heterogeneous nature of Nigeria,” Keyamo said.