THE All Progressives Congress (APC) recorded a sweeping victory in five of the six bye-elections conducted across several parts of the country on Saturday, June 20, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secured the Rivers South-East Senatorial District seat.
The bye-elections, organised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), were held to fill vacancies created by deaths and appointments that left legislative seats vacant in Nasarawa, Enugu, Ondo, Kano, Kebbi and Rivers states.
The outcomes of the election in five of the six states further strengthened the APC’s legislative presence across the country, with the ruling party winning four senatorial seats, one House of Representatives seat and a state assembly seat.
Faduyile reclaims Ondo South for APC
In Ondo State, APC candidate Dayo Faduyile won the Ondo South Senatorial District bye-election with 68,474 votes.
The election was conducted to replace former senator Jimoh Ibrahim, who was appointed Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
INEC Returning Officer, Gbenga Solomon-Ibileye, announced the result in Okitipupa on Sunday, June 21, declaring Faduyile the winner after polling the highest number of votes. His closest challenger, Adeolu Akinwunmi of the Allied People’s Movement (APM), garnered 1,411 votes, while candidates of the Action People’s Party (APP) and Boot Party (BP) secured 213 and 70 votes, respectively.
The election was held across Okitipupa, Ilaje, Ese-Odo, Irele, Odigbo and Ile-Oluji/Oke-Igbo local government areas.
Envulu-Anza defeats rivals in Nasarawa North
In Nasarawa State, APC candidate Danladi Envulu-Anza emerged victorious in the Nasarawa North Senatorial District bye-election, polling 45,362 votes.
The seat became vacant following the death of Senator Godiya Akwashiki from a prolonged illness.
Declaring the result in Akwanga, Returning Officer Aminu Ali said Labour Party candidate and former Information Minister Labaran Maku scored 12,931 votes, while PDP candidate Emmanuel David Ombugadu secured 11,570 votes.
Shortly before the declaration, Labour Party officials staged a walkout from the collation centre, alleging irregularities in the collation process. Maku had earlier raised concerns over BVAS malfunctions and ballot-related issues in some polling units across the senatorial district.
APC records landslide victory in Enugu North
The APC also secured a commanding victory in Enugu North Senatorial District, where Ikeje Asogwa polled 162,360 votes to defeat PDP candidate Nestor Ezeme, who garnered 9,299 votes.
The bye-election was conducted to replace Senator Okey Ezea, who died in November 2025.
Announcing the result in Nsukka, Returning Officer Christian Ezeibe said Asogwa scored the highest number of lawful votes cast and satisfied all constitutional requirements.
According to INEC, 184,094 voters were accredited out of the 727,340 registered voters in the district.
In his acceptance speech, Asogwa pledged to provide quality representation to the people of the six local government areas that make up the senatorial zone.
Shuaibu wins Dawakin Kudu/Warawa federal constituency poll
In Kano State, APC candidate Rabiu Shuaibu won the Dawakin Kudu/Warawa Federal Constituency bye-election with 35,356 votes.
INEC Returning Officer Umar Sani announced the result, noting that Lawan Garba Haruna of the APM polled 268 votes, while Labour Party candidate Abubakar Yahaya Mohammed secured 98 votes.
The bye-election was conducted following the death of the constituency’s former representative.
INEC officials described the exercise as peaceful and orderly, although voter turnout was relatively low. Major opposition parties in Kano, including the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and the PDP, did not participate in the contest.
Security personnel deployed under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security monitored the process across polling units.
Aiki wins Zuru assembly bye-election
In Kebbi State, APC candidate Rabiu Garba Aiki emerged victorious in the Zuru State Constituency bye-election for the State House of Assembly.
According to INEC, Aiki polled 4,871 votes to defeat Labour Party candidate Aliyu Muhammad, who secured 168 votes.
The election was held to fill the vacancy created by the death of former Speaker of the Kebbi State House of Assembly, Muhammad Usman Zuru.
INEC said 5,156 voters were accredited out of 109,385 registered voters, while 95 votes were rejected and 5,055 valid votes were recorded.
The election witnessed generally low voter turnout across the constituency’s 10 wards, with the APC maintaining a clear lead throughout the collation process.
Nwogu gives PDP sole victory in Saturday’s polls
The PDP’s only success came in Rivers State, where Olaka Nwogu won the Rivers South-East Senatorial District bye-election.
Nwogu polled 46,961 votes to defeat APC candidate Osarokaka Ebenezer Erewari, who secured 1,647 votes. Douglas Fabeke of the Action Alliance scored 1,175 votes, while Labour Party candidate Sam Kinani garnered 367 votes.
The election was conducted to replace Senator Barry Mpigi, who died in February.
Declaring the result in Bori, Returning Officer Rosemary Ogu said Nwogu satisfied all constitutional requirements and was duly returned elected.
Although INEC acknowledged reports of technical glitches involving the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in some polling units, the commission said backup devices were deployed, and technical teams promptly resolved the issues.
The ICIR reports that the bye-elections were held alongside the Ekiti State governorship election, where Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the APC secured a second term in office, further boosting the party’s performance ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M