By-Elections: APC Rates Self ‘Good’ In Enugu, ‘Unimpressive’ In Ondo Outing

Despite winning the Ondo South Senatorial by-election held last weekend, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is said to be worried about its performance in the poll, with party national leaders reportedly reviewing the outcome as part of preparations for the 2027 general election.

Although an official position has yet to be released, an impeccable source described the outcomes as “good and unimpressive.”

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conducted by-elections in six states. The APC won five of the contests, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) retained the Rivers South East Senatorial seat through its candidate, Olaka Nwogu.

In Ondo South, former President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Prof. Dayo Faduyile, won the election with 68,474 votes, defeating the Allied People’s Movement (APM) candidate, Adeolu Akinwumi, who polled 1,411 votes.

A source who is a member of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) confided in our correspondent that the by-elections, alongside the recent Ekiti governorship election and the forthcoming 15 August Osun governorship poll, were being treated by the APC as indicators of its readiness for the 2027 elections, especially in the South-West, where President Bola Ahmed Tinubu hails from.

“The party leadership has commenced a comprehensive review of the elections to identify our strengths and areas requiring improvement. We are still working on that, but you know the by-elections were held in several states. For now, we can only say the outcome was good in Enugu but unimpressive in Ondo, even though we won,” he said.

According to him, the Ondo South result attracted particular attention because of the low voter turnout, despite the district being the senatorial zone of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and the APC facing no formidable opposition. No fewer than 70,000 votes were cast by all parties, compared with the 2023 senatorial election in which the APC candidate, Jimoh Ibrahim, secured 110,665 votes while the PDP’s Agboola Ajayi polled 65,784 votes.

Drawing a comparison between the Ondo South figures and the Enugu North Senatorial by-election, where the APC scored 162,360 votes against the PDP’s 9,299, he noted that although the APC lost the Enugu North seat in 2023, voter turnout in the recent by-election remained close to that of the previous general election.

“The party’s target is to surpass its 2023 presidential vote, particularly in the South-West. Ondo gave President Bola Ahmed Tinubu the highest percentage of votes in the region in 2023. With the by-election turnout, there are concerns about whether the party can improve on the 369,924 votes Tinubu secured in the state during the presidential election.

“Honestly, we have more work to do in Ondo South because it was disturbing for us to see that level of turnout in the governor’s enclave.

It is worrisome that in the governor’s electoral ward, where we have over 11,000 registered voters, our party secured fewer than 700 votes, placing the ward eighth among the 12 wards.

The APC also polled fewer than 12,000 votes across the entire local government area, which has about 147,000 registered voters,” the source said.

Another APC chieftain in Ondo, who also pleaded anonymity, said the by-election exposed cracks within the party. He accused Governor Aiyedatiwa of not doing enough to unite party stakeholders, alleging that comments by some of the governor’s loyalists about “retiring” certain party leaders had alienated influential members.

He also cited the violence that marred the party’s congresses in Akure, saying some victims had yet to recover.

The party stalwart warned that the APC must close ranks ahead of 2027, especially now that former Senator Nicholas Tofowomo is the Ondo South senatorial candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).