Voters at a polling unit during Saturday's by-election
The Nenadi Usman-led faction of the Labour Party (LP) has rejected the outcome of Saturday’s by-elections.
On Sunday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the results of the by-elections across 16 constituencies in the country.
The ruling All Progressives Party (APC) was the dominant party when the results of the by-elections, conducted to fill vacant seats in the national assembly and state houses of assembly, were announced.
Reacting to the outcome of the elections in a statement issued by Ken Asogwa, her senior special adviser on media, Usman alleged that the exercise was characterised by vote-buying, violence and collusion between the APC and security agencies.
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She said the results of the polls showed that INEC, under the leadership of Mahmoud Yakubu, had failed to redeem its “battered image” after the 2023 general election.
“What transpired across Nigeria yesterday in the name of by-elections was nothing short of a mockery of democracy, a travesty of justice against the Nigerian people, and a dangerous dress rehearsal of what may befall us in 2027 if citizens do not act swiftly to halt this brigandage,” the statement reads.
“From Kaduna to Anambra, Ogun to Oyo, and Kano, the narrative remained the same: large-scale rigging, brazen vote-buying, and violence defined the process.
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“Independent accounts confirmed that the ruling APC—often in collusion with security agencies—stood at the very centre of these shameful acts that desecrated our electoral space.
“If INEC cannot conduct minor off-season elections with integrity, one shudders at the thought of how it intends to manage the nationwide polls of 2027.
“True to character, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under Professor Mahmoud Yakubu did not disappoint.
“Two years after the brazen electoral heist that robbed the Labour Party and the Nigerian people of their mandate, we had hoped that the passage of time would inspire Yakubu to at least attempt a semblance of redemption—a pretence at leaving behind a legacy.
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“Yesterday’s outing has proved that such expectations were misplaced.”
The LP chairperson asked President Bola Tinubu to “rescue democracy from collapse”, warning that “the charade” witnessed at Saturday’s polls must not be allowed to define future elections.
“History will be unkind to President Tinubu if he allows desperate hawks to push him into further desecrating our democracy in pursuit of power, even when citizens are weary and battered by the harsh policies of his government,” she added.
In the polls held across 16 constituencies in 12 states, the LP did not secure any seat.
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