Tinubu Praises Grassroots Support as APC Sweeps Gombe, Delta, and Kano By-Elections

By Aminat Damilola, Assistant Editor

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has reaffirmed its political dominance by sweeping the weekend’s legislative by-elections.

With the presidential election just four months away, the APC won four out of five contested federal and state seats across three of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones: the Northeast, Northwest, and South-South.

The APC secured victories in Gombe, Kano, Delta, and one constituency in Bauchi, while the APM won the other contested seat in Bauchi.

Following yesterday’s results, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu characterized the APC victories as a clear sign of continued grassroots backing for his administration’s economic agenda.

The President congratulated the winners and urged Nigerians to remain steadfast, noting that the benefits of his administration’s three-year reform are becoming increasingly clear.

In a statement issued by his strategy adviser Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu said the election outcome reflects public confidence in the APC’s ability to govern and deliver shared prosperity.

“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.

“I urge Nigerians to remain steadfast and not be swayed by political opportunism. The benefits of these reforms will become increasingly evident as we enter the next phase of our programme,” the President said.

Tinubu urged the five winners to regard their victories as a mandate for service and justify the confidence reposed in them by their constituents through diligent and effective representation.

He also appealed to candidates who lost the elections to accept the results in good faith and continue to contribute to the country’s democratic process.

The President commended voters and security agencies for maintaining peace and order during the election and praised INEC for the conduct of the polls.

He, however, urged the electoral commission to consolidate the progress recorded and address shortcomings identified during the by-elections ahead of the general elections.

The winners declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are: Kallamu Usman MaiJama’a for Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency in Gombe State; Husseini Datti for Dawakin Kudu State Constituency in Kano State; Okolosi Ator for Udu State Constituency in Delta State; and Yakubu Ali for Disina State Constituency in Bauchi State.

Adamu Yakubu of the APM won the Sakwa State Constituency seat in Bauchi.

The results showed the APC securing particularly wide margins in Gombe, Kano and Delta, while the contest in Disina was considerably closer.

In Gombe, Kallamu polled 41,121 votes to defeat the Labour Party candidate, who scored 3,553 votes. The APM polled 872 votes, while the NDP secured 707 votes.

The result was announced by the Returning Officer, Prof. Umar Gurama of the Federal University of Kashere, at the Malam-Sidi collation centre in Kwami Local Government Area.

Gurama said 47,301 votes were cast, with 46,551 declared valid and 750 rejected.

The election was conducted across 903 polling units in 31 Registration Areas covering Gombe, Kwami and Funakaye local government areas.

The by-election followed the death of the former representative of the constituency, Yaya Bauchi-Tongo.

In Kano, Datti won the Dawakin Kudu State Constituency by-election with 22,890 votes.

The result, announced by the Returning Officer, Prof. Ibrahim Tajo Siraj, showed the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) candidate, Habibu Hamisu, placing second with 270 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Abdullahi Adamu, scored 108 votes.

The Action Democratic Party (ADP) polled 89 votes, the Action Peoples Party (APP) 53, while the Labour Party secured 39 votes.

A total of 23,611 votes were recorded at the 15 polling units covered by the declaration, with 23,449 valid votes and 162 rejected.

In Delta, Ator won the Udu State Constituency by-election with 8,724 votes, defeating the PDP candidate, George Orugbo, who scored 212 votes.

The APM candidate, Esther Omovie, polled 33 votes.

The ward-by-ward results showed APC leads in all 10 wards of the constituency, giving Ator a margin of 8,512 votes.

The Udu seat became vacant after the former lawmaker, Collins Egbetamah, resigned from the APC and defected to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

The Delta State House of Assembly declared the seat vacant on June 30, 2026, citing the constitutional provision governing defection by elected lawmakers.

The election was generally peaceful, although some polling units experienced challenges, including malfunctions involving the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and variations in the commencement of voting.

In Bauchi, the APC and APM shared the two available seats.

Yakubu Ali of the APC won the Disina State Constituency election with 5,846 votes, defeating the APM candidate, who polled 5,225 votes. The PRP candidate came third with 3,701 votes.

In the Sakwa State Constituency election in Zaki Local Government Area, however, APM candidate Adamu Yakubu emerged victorious with 8,515 votes.

The APC polled 3,771 votes, the PDP 2,076 and the PRP 727.

The split result gave the APC four of the five seats contested across the four states, while the APM secured its only victory in Sakwa, Bauchi.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, described the by-elections as important tests of the commission’s preparedness, saying lessons from the polls would be deployed to improve its logistics, technology and field operations ahead of the general elections.

The commission’s results portal showed yesterday that polling-unit results had been uploaded for all five contests, although some results were still outstanding in four constituencies at the time of reporting.