2027 Polls Won’t Be A Repeat Of Ekiti, By-elections, Opposition Tells APC

Ruling party predicts worse outing for ADC, NDC, PDP, others

By James Kwen and Ademu Idakwo,  Abuja

The National Democratic Congress (NDC), African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) have dismissed suggestions by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) that its victories in the Ekiti State governorship election and recent legislative by-elections are a pointer to the outcome of the 2027 general elections.

The opposition parties argued that the Ekiti poll was an off-cycle election characterised by low voter turnout, peculiar local dynamics and challenges with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), insisting that it cannot be used to predict a nationwide election.

In separate interviews with LEADERSHIP Sunday, the parties described the APC’s interpretation of the results as premature and maintained that improved voter mobilisation, stronger party structures and broader political alliances would reshape the political landscape ahead of 2027.

Last weekend, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conducted six legislative by-elections alongside the Ekiti governorship election.

The by-elections took place in Dawaki Kudu/Warawa Federal Constituency in Kano State, Zuru State Constituency in Kebbi State, Ondo South Senatorial District, Rivers South-East Senatorial District, Nasarawa North Senatorial District and Enugu North Senatorial District.

Except for the Ondo South seat, which became vacant after former Senator Jimoh Ibrahim was appointed Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, the other vacancies resulted from the deaths of serving lawmakers.

The APC won five of the six by-elections, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) retained the Rivers South-East Senatorial District. Neither the ADC nor the NDC secured any seat.

In the Ekiti governorship election, Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji was re-elected after polling 319,224 votes. PDP candidate Dr Wole Oluyede scored 40,543 votes, while ADC candidate Dare Bejide received 12,872 votes.

While the APC celebrated the results as evidence of growing public support ahead of 2027, opposition parties rejected the outcome, insisting that the elections did not reflect the true will of the people.

Although the APC has yet to issue an official assessment, a member of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) told LEADERSHIP Sunday that the elections were being reviewed as indicators of the party’s preparedness for 2027, particularly in the South-West, President Bola Tinubu’s political base.

“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 because the by-elections were held in several states, we can only say the outcome was good in Enugu but unimpressive in Ondo, even though we won,” the source said.

According to the source, the Ondo South result was of particular concern because of the low turnout despite the district being Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s senatorial zone and the APC facing little opposition.

Fewer than 70,000 votes were cast in the by-election, compared with the 2023 senatorial election, when APC candidate Jimoh Ibrahim secured 110,665 votes against PDP’s Agboola Ajayi’s 65,784.

By contrast, the APC polled 162,360 votes in the Enugu North by-election against the PDP’s 9,299, despite having lost the seat during the 2023 general election.

“The party’s target is to surpass its 2023 presidential vote, particularly in the South-West. Ondo gave President Bola 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,” the source added.

The APC nevertheless expressed confidence that the opposition would fare even worse in 2027, citing what it described as growing public support.

APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka described Oyebanji’s victory as historic, noting that he became the first incumbent governor in the state’s contemporary democratic history to secure re-election.

Similarly, the Renewed Hope Ambassadors (RHA) said the result reflected public confidence in Oyebanji’s Shared Prosperity Agenda and its alignment with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda.

Its Director of Media and Publicity, Tunde Rahman, commended Tinubu’s reforms, saying they created the enabling environment for the victory.

“The Ekiti people’s decision reflects strong confidence in Governor Oyebanji’s Shared Prosperity Agenda and its alignment with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope vision for Nigeria.

“As Renewed Hope Ambassadors, our work has only just begun. We must work for the victory of the APC candidate in the Osun governorship election on 15 August and continue articulating the reforms and achievements of President Tinubu, which are significant enough to ensure his re-election in January 2027,” Rahman said.

However, the NDC rejected the Nasarawa North Senatorial District by-election, calling for its cancellation and a fresh poll over alleged widespread irregularities.

In a statement by its Nasarawa State Publicity Secretary, Danjuma Joseph, the party alleged that its official logo was omitted from key electoral materials and replaced with a different symbol on the ballot paper, creating confusion among voters.

It also claimed its logo was absent from result sheets used during collation and that its agents were prevented from endorsing results at the ward, local government and state levels.

The party further alleged that BVAS failures disrupted accreditation in several polling units, undermining the credibility of the election.

Insisting that the irregularities were substantial enough to invalidate the exercise, the NDC said it would challenge the outcome through legal means.

The party’s candidate in the Enugu North Senatorial District by-election, Oscar Ossai, also rejected the result, describing the process as “fundamentally flawed and incapable of reflecting the true will” of the electorate.

“The electoral process fell short of the standards of credibility, transparency and fairness expected in a democratic election,” he said.

PDP governorship candidate Dr Wole Oluyede also rejected the outcome of the Ekiti election, insisting that the declared result did not reflect the democratic aspirations of the people.

Speaking through the Director of Media and Communications of the Oluyede Campaign Organisation, Chief Sanya Atofarati, he alleged widespread vote-buying, voter intimidation, harassment of opposition supporters and other practices that undermined the integrity of the election.

“These incidents, taken together, cast serious doubt on the credibility of the exercise and the authenticity of the results subsequently declared,” he said.

ADC governorship candidate Dare Bejide similarly rejected the result, describing the election as lacking credibility and alleging widespread vote-buying and intimidation.

“My immediate reaction is to reject the result in full because the exercise was not credible,” he said.

Bejide accused the ruling party of inducing voters with money and food rather than relying on its performance in office.

“You all witnessed what happened. Some places were almost like a war zone,” he added.

NDC National Publicity Secretary Osa Director also criticised the conduct of the Ekiti election.

“The election in Ekiti State was sadly neither free, fair, nor credible. It was characterised by vote-buying and identity theft. Voters were openly induced, and some were given voter cards belonging to other people to vote for the APC candidate.

“Where did these politicians of the APC get these unclaimed voter cards from INEC? The Ekiti State election was a sham, and if that is a foretaste of what the 2027 general elections will look like, then we are all in trouble.”

He also expressed concern over growing voter apathy, saying the party was intensifying efforts to reconnect with voters, particularly young people.

“The NDC is doing its best to reconnect with voters, especially the younger generation and those who normally stay away from voting. We need to do a lot to stem the rising voter apathy nationwide. We have our strategies lined out,” he said, insisting that 2027 would be different.

ADC National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi said the party was still awaiting reports from its state structures before issuing a comprehensive assessment of the Ekiti election and the by-elections.

“We have not received any reports on the election in Ekiti and other by-elections yet, but we are going to make our findings known soon,” he said, adding that the 2027 elections would not be the same.

The SDP maintained that while elections inevitably produce winners and losers, the integrity of the process remained open to scrutiny.

Its National Publicity Secretary, Araba Rufus Aiyenigba, acknowledged improvements in election logistics but argued that widespread vote-buying undermined the exercise’s credibility.

“We witnessed a remarkable improvement in logistics movement, and many stakeholders and observers have acknowledged this.

“However, the rampant vote-buying that characterised the election constituted a major dent in the integrity of the process.”

He further alleged that the refusal to upload the names of SDP agents effectively excluded the party from participating fully in the election.

“The deliberate shutting out of the SDP, through the refusal to allow the uploading of the names of our party agents for the election, rendered the exercise a nullity,” he said.

Aiyenigba urged Nigerians to defend the credibility of the country’s electoral system.

“Our elections must be cleaner, and our democracy must be purged of corrupt practices that are inimical to national transformation,” he added.