The All Progressives Congress (APC) has won the bye-elections into the Ungogo and Kano Municipal State Assembly constituencies in Kano after the main opposition in the state, the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), opted out of the polls.
The bye-elections were held on Saturday to fill vacancies created by the death of two lawmakers last December: Aminu Sa’adu (Ungogo) and Sarki Aliyu (Kano Municipal). Both men were members of the NNPP, which was the ruling party in the state until Governor Abba Yusuf defected to the APC last month.
The sons of the deceased lawmakers – Aminu Sa’adu Jr. and Nabil Daneji – contested to succeed their fathers on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Both men had been nominated on the NNPP platform until the governor switched to the APC, and they joined him in the new party.
Mr Daneji scored 7,484 votes to win the Kano Municipal Constituency seat and will represent the constituency in the Kano State House of Assembly.
The Returning Officer, Ibrahim Siraj, announced the result and declared Mr Daneji duly elected.
Also, in Ungogo Constituency, the APC candidate, Mr Sa’ad, secured 8,975 votes to clinch the seat.
The Returning Officer for the constituency, Ali Abdullahi, declared Mr Sa’ad the winner and returned him elected.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how voters’ apathy marked the elections.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Kano State, Abdu Zango, attributed the low voter turnout recorded during the polls to the timing of the elections and limited participation by political parties.
Speaking to journalists while monitoring the exercise, Mr 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 is that this is a very small election involving only two candidates and very few parties. Nine contestants, I think,” Mr Zango said.
Road to the elections
The NNPP had initially nominated the sons to replace their late fathers.
However, following Governor Yusuf’s defection from the NNPP to the APC, the two young contestants shifted their loyalty to the governor and opted to run under the APC banner instead.
While a faction of the NNPP led by Abdullahi Abiya—which opposes state party leader Rabiu Kwankwaso—claimed to have fielded its own candidates, the mainstream NNPP loyal to Mr Kwankwaso declined to do so.
The spokesperson for the Kwankwasiyya movement, Habibu Mailemu, stated in a statement that the NNPP chose not to substitute the names of the original candidates after their move to the APC.
This decision followed a directive from Mr Kwankwaso, who maintained that the children of the deceased lawmakers should be supported in returning to the State Assembly, regardless of their current political platform.
Mr Mailemu said that Mr Kwankwaso’s decision to refrain from fielding opposing candidates was “rooted in compassion, loyalty, and respect, rather than political expediency.”
“Despite these developments (the candidates’ defection to APC), our National Leader, in his characteristic statesmanship and respect for the bereaved families and their longstanding commitment to the Kwankwasiyya Movement, resolved to honour his original stand.
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“He maintained that the children of the deceased members should be allowed to return to the State Assembly, irrespective of the political platform they now stand on. This was a decision rooted in compassion, loyalty, and respect, not political expediency.
“Consequently, the NNPP deliberately refrained from substituting their names, even after they resigned from the party. This action clearly demonstrates that there is only one recognised legitimate NNPP structure in the state. Had there been any other faction with lawful standing, as falsely claimed in some quarters, its sponsored candidates would have appeared on the ballot.
“The fact that the NNPP does not have a candidate in this bye-election, as recognised by INEC and is conspicuously absent from the ballot papers, puts to rest all speculation and misinformation. The electoral body’s records speak for themselves.”