THE All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Adesola Ayoola-Elegbeji, has emerged winner of the Remo Federal Constituency by-election conducted on Saturday in Ogun State.
The Returning Officer, Kazeem Bello, declared the results in the early hours of Sunday, August 17, at the INEC Collation Centre in Ikenne.
“The APC candidate, Adesola Ayoola-Elegbeji, having fulfilled all requirements of the Electoral Act and having secured the highest number of votes, is hereby declared the winner of the by-election to fill the vacant seat of the Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo North Federal constituency of the House of Representatives,” Bello said.
The ICIR reports that Ayoola-Elegbeji will be filling the vacant seat left by the late Adewunmi Onanuga, fondly known as Ijaya, who passed away on January 15 after a brief illness. Onanuga was one of the 17 female lawmakers in the House of Representatives during the 10th National Assembly.
Ayoola-Elegbeji won across the three local government areas of Sagamu, Ikenne, and Remo North, having polled 41,237 votes to defeat her closest rival, Bola Oluwole of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 14,324 votes.
Other officials who participated in the collation included Richard Abayomi Sobayo (Sagamu), Akeem Adekunle Makinde (Ikenne), and Matthew Wheto (Remo North).
Reacting to the victory, Ayoola-Elegbeji expressed deep appreciation to the electorate for giving her an overwhelming mandate.
She pledged to deliver effective representation, emphasising her commitment to youth empowerment, job creation, and infrastructural renewal that would directly improve the lives of people in the constituency, while also building on the notable achievements of her predecessor.
The ICIR reported that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), held by-elections on Saturday, August 16, across 16 constituencies in 12 states, filling two senatorial seats, five House of Representatives positions, and nine state assembly slots.
The polls followed vacancies created by resignations, deaths, and court-ordered reruns.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.