Tinubu urges new lawmakers to justify mandates after by-election victories

Chinedum Ukaegbu

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has congratulated the winners of the legislative by-elections conducted across Gombe, Kano, Bauchi and Delta states, with the All Progressives Congress (APC) securing four of the five seats contested.

The elections, conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Saturday, September 19, 2026, comprised one federal constituency and four State House of Assembly constituencies.

According to the Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy), Bayo Onanuga, the APC candidates who emerged victorious were Kallamu MaiJama’a of the Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency in Gombe State; Husseini Datti of the Dawakin Kudu State Constituency in Kano State; Okolosi Ator of the Udu State Constituency in Delta State; and Yakubu Ali of the Disina State Constituency in Bauchi State.

The Allied Peoples Movement (APM), however, secured the fifth seat, with its candidate, Adamu Yakubu, winning the Sakwa State Constituency in Bauchi State.

In Gombe, Kallamu MaiJama’a won the federal constituency election with 41,121 votes, while the Labour Party polled 3,553 votes and the APM recorded 872 votes.

In Kano, Husseini Datti won the Dawakin Kudu State Constituency seat with 22,890 votes. The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) scored 270 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) polled 108 votes.

In Delta, APC candidate Okolosi Ator secured the Udu State Constituency seat with 8,724 votes, while the PDP candidate polled 214 votes.

The APC also won the Disina State Constituency in Bauchi, where Yakubu Ali polled 5,846 votes to defeat the APM candidate, who scored 5,225 votes.

In the Sakwa State Constituency, however, APM candidate Adamu Yakubu emerged victorious with 8,515 votes. The APC polled 3,771 votes, while the PDP recorded 2,076 votes.

Reacting to the outcome, President Tinubu said the victories recorded by APC candidates demonstrated what he described as continued confidence in the party’s capacity to govern effectively 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,” the President said.

He urged Nigerians to remain steadfast and not be swayed by what he described as political opportunism, adding that the benefits of the administration’s reforms would become increasingly evident as the government enters the next phase of its programme.

President Tinubu also charged the newly elected lawmakers to justify the confidence placed in them by their constituents through diligent and effective representation.

He urged candidates who lost the elections to accept the outcome in good faith and continue to contribute to Nigeria’s democratic process.

The President commended voters and security agencies for maintaining peace and order during the elections, while also applauding INEC for conducting the polls.

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

Reports from the elections indicated that while the polls were generally peaceful, low voter turnout was recorded in parts of Gombe and Kano, while technical challenges involving the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) were reported in Delta.

The by-elections are among the electoral exercises preceding the 2027 general elections. INEC’s current calendar lists January 16, 2027, for the nationwide presidential and National Assembly elections and February 6, 2027, for the governorship and State House of Assembly elections in participating states.