The All Progressives Congress has won the Ungogo and Kano Municipal State Assembly bye-elections held on Saturday.
In Kano Municipal Constituency, the APC candidate, Aliyu Nabil Daneji, polled 7,484 votes to secure the seat and will represent the constituency in the Kano State House of Assembly.
As reported by Daily Trust, the Returning Officer, Professor Ibrahim Tajo Siraj, announced the result on Sunday and declared Daneji duly elected.
“Aliyu Nabil Daneji of the APC, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” Prof. Siraj said.
Similarly, in Ungogo Constituency, the APC candidate, Aminu Sa’ad Sa’ad, secured 8,975 votes to clinch the seat.
His closest rival, Shua’ibu Hashimu of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), garnered 54 votes.
Professor Ali Tijjani Abdullahi, who served as the Returning Officer for the constituency, declared Sa’ad winner and returned him elected.
“Aminu Sa’ad Sa’ad of the APC, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” Prof. Abdullahi stated.
The by-elections were conducted to restore representation in the Kano State House of Assembly following the unexpected demise of the former legislators.
PUNCH Online earlier reported that major opposition parties, including the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC), were not on the ballot.
There was, however, low voter turnout during the elections.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Kano State, Ambassador Abdu Zango, attributed the low turnout to the timing of the elections and limited participation by political parties.
Speaking to journalists while monitoring the exercise, Zango described the elections as generally peaceful, though marked by low participation in several polling units.
“First of all, I think the timing, maybe Ramadan. Second, I think the general feeling that this is a very small election involving only two candidates and very few parties. Nine contestants, I think,” he said.
He added that the exercise was conducted in a calm atmosphere, with no reported cases of violence or security breaches.
“As far as security is concerned, you can see for yourselves, no issue. It’s very unlike Kano. We really want to appreciate and commend citizens that they have behaved responsibly. No violence. No threat whatsoever, visible or even invisible. So we are very happy,” Zango stated.
The REC also dismissed insinuations surrounding the absence of some major opposition parties, noting that INEC had not received any formal complaints.
“That they are not participating is entirely the responsibility of the parties. We don’t decide who participates. Whoever conducts valid primaries, submits candidates and complies with the Electoral Act and INEC guidelines is eligible to contest,” he added.
