Senatorial by-election: APC wins in Ondo, PDP in Rivers – THIS

By Ayo Kehinde

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has further strengthened its political dominance in Ondo State after its candidate, Professor Dayo Faduyile, secured a decisive victory in the Ondo South Senatorial District by-election on Saturday, defeating candidates of opposition parties by a wide margin in the six local government areas of the district.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officially declared Faduyile the winner on Sunday following the collation of results at the Okitipupa polling centre, headquarters of Okitipupa Local Government Area.

INEC Returning Officer, Professor Gbenga Solomon-Ibileye, Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Lokoja, announced that Faduyile polled 68,474 votes to emerge winner of the hotly contested senatorial elections.

According to the official result announced by INEC, Adeolu Akinwunmi of the Allied People’s Movement (APM) finished in second place, with 1,411 votes.

Other candidates recorded significantly lower figures, with Adesanya Olaoluwa of the People’s Action Party (APP) getting 213 votes, while Clement Funso-Nejo of the Boot Party (BP) got 70 votes.

INEC disclosed that the total number of votes cast during the exercise was 70,770, while 602 votes were rejected after collation.

Speaking shortly after the results were declared, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of Ondo State, Mutiu Agboke, described the exercise as a critical operational test for future elections, especially preparations for the 2027 general elections.

Agboke noted that although some operational challenges were encountered during the conduct of the poll, the lessons learned would help the commission improve future electoral processes. He expressed satisfaction over the peaceful conduct of the exercise and commended the election officials deployed in difficult terrains, especially the riverine communities within the senatorial district.

“The election results reflect the voice of the people and thank God that all INEC personnel who went to the riverine areas returned safely and there were no adverse reports anywhere,” Agboke said.

The by-election was conducted in six local government areas that make up Ondo South Senatorial District, including Okitipupa Local Government Area, Ilaje Local Government Area, Ese Odo Local Government Area, Irele Local Government Area, Odigbo Local Government Area and Ile Oluji Oke-Igbo Local Government Area.

The election was made necessary following the appointment of former Senator Jimoh Ibrahim as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, thus creating a vacancy in the district’s representation in the Senate.

In Rivers State, INEC has declared Olaka Nwogu of the Peoples Democratic Party the winner of the Rivers South-East Senatorial District by-election in Rivers State, following a landslide victory in the poll on Saturday.

Announcing the official results, INEC said Nwogu polled a total of 47,961 votes, defeating candidates of other participating political parties by a wide margin in the seven local government areas that make up the senatorial district.

According to the final tally released by the electoral body, the PDP candidate obtained 47,961 votes to emerge as the winner, while the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate garnered 1,647 votes. The Action Alliance (AA) came in third place with 1,175 votes, while the Labor Party (LP) finished with 367 votes.

The former member of the House of Representatives contested the elections under the platform of the PDP and is widely seen as a key figure within the political structure aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

THEWILL reports that all four political parties that contested the elections – PDP, APC, AA and LP, are part of what has become known in Rivers political circles as Wike’s “Rainbow Coalition”, a broad alliance of political interests believed to be working in concert in the state.

Sources within the coalition had previously indicated that the alliance had collectively chosen Senator-elect Olaka Nwogu as its preferred candidate ahead of the election, a development that significantly shaped the dynamics of the competition and contributed to its overwhelming performance at the polls.

The by-election was conducted to fill the vacancy created by the death of former senator representing the district, Barry Mpigi, who passed away in February, necessitating a fresh election to determine his successor in the upper legislative house.

The emergence of Nwogu is expected to further strengthen the influence of the Wike-backed political bloc in Rivers State.



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