The All Progressives Congress has won four of the five legislative seats contested in the September 19, 2026 by-elections held across Gombe, Kano, Bauchi and Delta states.
The results have prompted renewed discussion about the strength of opposition parties at the grassroots ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
The five contests comprised one House of Representatives seat and four State House of Assembly seats across the four states.
In Gombe State, APC candidate Kallamu MaiJama’a won the Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency seat with 41,121 votes.
The Labour Party came second with 3,553 votes, while the Allied Peoples Movement scored 872 votes and the New Nigeria Democratic Party recorded 707 votes.
INEC reported that 47,301 votes were cast in the Gombe contest, with 46,551 declared valid and 750 rejected.
In Kano State, APC candidate Hussaini Datti won the Dawakin Kudu State Constituency election with 22,890 votes.
The Peoples Redemption Party recorded 270 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party received 108 and the Labour Party polled 39 votes.
The Kano contest also attracted attention because the African Democratic Congress and Nigeria Democratic Congress did not participate in the election.
Bauchi State produced two different outcomes, with the APC taking one constituency and the APM securing the other.
In Disina State Constituency, APC candidate Yakubu Ali won with 5,846 votes, narrowly ahead of the APM candidate who received 5,225 votes.
The Peoples Redemption Party recorded 3,701 votes in the Disina contest.
However, in Sakwa State Constituency, APM candidate Adamu Yakubu defeated the APC candidate with 8,515 votes against 3,771.
The Peoples Democratic Party received 2,076 votes in Sakwa, while the PRP polled 727 votes.
In Delta State, APC candidate Okolosi Ator won the Udu State Constituency election with 8,724 votes.
His PDP challenger, George Biatere Orugbo, recorded 214 votes, according to the result reported by The Guardian.
The Udu seat had become vacant following the defection of its former occupant, Collins Egbetamah, from the APC to the Nigeria Democratic Congress.
The overall results gave the APC four seats while the APM emerged with one, leaving the PDP, LP, PRP and other participating opposition parties without a victory in the five contests.
The distribution of the results has led political observers and opposition figures to focus on the ability of opposition parties to translate national-level coalition discussions into local electoral structures.
Former African Democratic Congress National Chairman Ralphs Nwosu described the outcome as a wake-up call for opposition parties and said their attention should shift towards grassroots mobilisation, credible candidates and practical electoral preparation.
The results have also attracted comments from the APC, with the ruling party highlighting the victories as evidence of its organisational structures and support in different parts of the country.
APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka said the outcome demonstrated the party’s organisational strength, grassroots support and acceptance among voters.
President Bola Tinubu also congratulated the winners and described the results as evidence of continued grassroots support for the APC, while urging the newly elected lawmakers to justify the confidence placed in them by their constituents.
However, the results alone do not establish how voters will behave in the 2027 general elections, particularly because by-elections involve different constituencies, candidates, turnout levels and local political dynamics.
INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan described the September 19 polls as an important operational test ahead of the 2027 elections.
He said the commission would use lessons from the elections to examine logistics, technology deployment and administrative readiness before the next general elections.
The by-elections therefore provided both parties and electoral authorities with information about local organisation, voter mobilisation and election-day operations.
For opposition parties, the results have intensified attention on the need to develop structures beyond high-profile political negotiations if they intend to compete effectively across constituencies in 2027.
For the APC, the four victories provide a set of recent electoral results across three geopolitical zones, although their broader significance will depend on future contests and the different political conditions surrounding them.
The September 19 elections have consequently become an early point of reference in discussions about Nigeria’s political landscape ahead of the next general elections.