The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has concluded the five legislative bye-elections conducted across Delta, Gombe, Kano and Bauchi states, with candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winning four seats and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) securing one.
The elections, held on Saturday, September 19, 2026, comprised the Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency election in Gombe State and four State House of Assembly contests in Delta, Kano and Bauchi states. INEC’s official election schedule confirms the five contests and their September 19 date.
In Delta State, APC candidate, Okolosi Ator, won the Udu State Constituency seat with 8,724 votes, defeating his closest challenger, George Orugbo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who scored 214 votes.
The APC had established a strong position during the collation of results from polling units across the constituency. At Unit 8, Iyeghe Town Hall, Ward 10, Aladja, the APC polled 105 votes, while the PDP and APM recorded no votes.
At Unit 35, IBO, Orhuwhorun, Ward 9, Old Egini Road, the APC secured 50 votes, while at Odjikpata Unit, also in Orhuwhorun, the party recorded 605 votes against four votes for the PDP and three for the APM.
The Udu State Constituency seat became vacant following the defection of its former occupant, Collins Egbetamah, from the APC to the Nigeria Democratic Congress.
In Gombe State, APC candidate Kallamu Usman MaiJama’a emerged winner of the Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency by-election with 41,121 votes.
The Labour Party candidate came second with 3,553 votes, while the APM secured 872 votes.
The result gave the APC the only federal constituency seat contested in the five bye-elections. The election was one of the five contests tracked by INEC’s results platform, alongside the four State Assembly elections.
In Kano State, APC candidate Husseini Datti won the Dawakin Kudu State Constituency election with 22,890 votes. The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) polled 270 votes, while the PDP received 108 votes.
In Bauchi State, the APC secured one of the two State Assembly seats contested. Its candidate, Yakubu Ali, won the Disina State Constituency bye-election with 5,846 votes, narrowly ahead of the APM candidate, who polled 5,225 votes. The PRP came third with 3,701 votes.
The APM, however, secured the Sakwa State Constituency seat in Zaki Local Government Area, with its candidate, Adamu Yakubu, polling 8,515 votes. The APC finished second with 3,771 votes, followed by the PDP with 2,076 votes and the PRP with 727 votes.
Meanwhile, INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, described the by-elections as important operational tests for the commission as preparations intensify for the 2027 general elections.
Amupitan spoke while presiding over operations at the commission’s National Situation Room at its headquarters in Abuja, where he and other senior officials monitored reports from the various states during the elections.
He said the exercises provided an opportunity for INEC to assess its electoral infrastructure and operational readiness across different locations, stressing that no election should be treated as trivial or routine.
According to him, every off-cycle election presents an opportunity for the commission to identify areas requiring improvement before larger electoral exercises.
“These four bye-elections provide indispensable operational lessons for the Commission as we systematically chart our roadmap toward the 2027 General Election”, Amupitan said.
He explained that INEC would use the experience from the polls to audit its logistics framework, test its technological deployment and assess the preparedness and performance of field personnel.
The chairman also said operational challenges identified before and during the elections were addressed through the commission’s Situation Room, which he described as a mechanism for monitoring developments and responding proactively to emerging problems.
“Our primary mandate in the Situation Room is monitoring and proactive crisis resolution”, he added.
Amupitan commended the technical team, national commissioners, field personnel and other officials who monitored the elections, saying their work enabled the commission to assess its performance across the affected constituencies.
The September 19 exercise comes less than four months before the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027, while the
governorship and State House of Assembly elections are scheduled for February 6, 2027.
