Tinubu Congratulates By-Election Winners, Says APC Victories Show Grassroots Support

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has congratulated the winners of the legislative by-elections conducted across Gombe, Kano, Bauchi and Delta states on Saturday, September 19.

The elections covered five constituencies, with the All Progressives Congress (APC) winning four seats while the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) secured the remaining seat. INEC had scheduled the polls for one federal constituency and four state constituencies across the four states.

The APC candidates who emerged victorious were Kallamu MaiJama’a in the Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency of Gombe State; Husseini Datti in the Dawakin Kudu State Constituency of Kano State; Okolosi Ator in the Udu State Constituency of Delta State; and Yakubu Ali in the Disina State Constituency of Bauchi State.

Adamu Yakubu of the APM won the Sakwa State Constituency seat in Bauchi State. Reports of the declared results confirm the four-to-one split between the APC and APM.

Reacting to the results, Tinubu said the victories recorded by APC candidates reflected what he described as continued support for the party at the grassroots.

“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 in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

Tinubu also urged Nigerians to remain committed to the administration’s reform programme, saying its benefits would become increasingly evident as the government moves into what he described as the next phase of its programme.

The President called on the newly elected lawmakers to justify the confidence placed in them by their constituents through effective representation and diligent service.

He also urged candidates who lost the elections to accept the results and continue participating in the democratic process.

Tinubu commended voters and security agencies for maintaining peace during the polls and praised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conducting the elections.

INEC had described the September 19 by-elections as an important operational exercise that could provide lessons ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The electoral commission’s current calendar lists the presidential and National Assembly elections for January 16, 2027, while the governorship and State House of Assembly elections in participating states are scheduled for February 6, 2027.

Tinubu consequently urged INEC to build on the experience from the latest by-elections and address any shortcomings ahead of the forthcoming elections.