President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has congratulated the winners of Saturday’s legislative by-elections across Gombe, Kano, Bauchi and Delta states, after the All Progressives Congress secured four of the five seats contested.
The Allied Peoples Movement won the remaining seat in Bauchi State.
The elections, conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission on September 19, covered the Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency, Dawakin Kudu State Constituency in Kano, Udu State Constituency in Delta, and the Disina and Sakwa State Constituencies in Bauchi.
In Gombe, APC candidate Kallamu Usman MaiJama’a won the federal constituency seat with 41,121 votes. Husseini Datti of the APC emerged victorious in Dawakin Kudu, Kano, with 22,890 votes, while Okolosi Ator won the Udu State Constituency seat in Delta with 8,724 votes.
In Bauchi, APC’s Yakubu Ali won the Disina State Constituency seat with 5,846 votes, while APM candidate Adamu Yakubu won the Sakwa constituency with 8,515 votes.
Reacting to the results, Tinubu said the victories recorded by APC candidates showed what he described as continued confidence in the party and its administration.
“I am encouraged by the support Nigerians at the grassroots continue to show for our party and for the difficult but necessary reforms our administration has implemented over the past three years,” the President said.
Tinubu added that he expected Nigerians to remain patient with the administration’s reform programme.
“The benefits of these reforms will become increasingly evident as we enter the next phase of our programme,” he said.
The President urged the newly elected lawmakers to justify the confidence placed in them by their constituents through effective representation.
He also called on candidates who lost the elections to accept the results and remain involved in the democratic process.
Tinubu commended voters and security agencies for maintaining peace during the polls and praised INEC for conducting the elections.
The President, however, urged the electoral commission to address shortcomings identified during the by-elections ahead of future elections.
The September 19 polls were largely reported to have been peaceful, although there were challenges in some areas. Reports indicated low voter turnout in parts of Gombe and Kano, while BVAS-related difficulties were recorded in Delta. In Bauchi, the police said 47 suspects were arrested after allegedly being found with firearms, cutlasses and sticks at some polling units.
INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, said the by-elections would provide operational lessons for the commission as it prepares for the 2027 general elections.
According to INEC’s current election calendar, the presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while the governorship and State House of Assembly elections in participating states are scheduled for February 6, 2027.