APC Consolidates Electoral Gains as FCT, Kano Polls Draw Scrutiny Over Irregularities
The All Progressives Congress is leading in FCT's Kuje Area Council elections and has won Kano State Assembly bye-elections, but concerns over overvoting and manual accreditation threaten to overshadow the party's victories.
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Nigeria's ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) appears poised to secure significant electoral victories in both the Federal Capital Territory and Kano State, though allegations of voting irregularities have emerged that could complicate the final outcomes and test the credibility of the country's electoral processes ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In the FCT's Kuje Area Council elections, the APC has established a commanding lead with results from eight of the area's ten wards already submitted to electoral authorities. Professor Nkiruka Odoh, serving as Returning Officer, has received the majority of ward results, according to Premium Times, leaving only two wards outstanding before final collation can be completed. The partial results suggest the ruling party is maintaining its traditional dominance in the nation's capital territory, where it has historically controlled most area councils.
However, the APC's apparent victory path has been marred by serious allegations from within its own ranks. An APC polling agent at a Kuje polling unit reported instances of overvoting and the use of manual accreditation procedures, raising questions about the integrity of the electoral process. "The party's lawyer is already drafting a letter to be submitted before collation resumes," the agent told Premium Times, indicating the party intends to formally challenge irregularities despite leading in the overall count. The allegations point to persistent weaknesses in Nigeria's electoral system, where technological solutions like the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) were introduced specifically to eliminate manual processes that have historically enabled fraud.
The concerns in Kuje reflect broader challenges facing Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as it conducts off-cycle elections that serve as testing grounds for electoral reforms. Overvoting, where the number of votes cast exceeds registered voters at a polling unit, remains one of the most flagrant violations of electoral law and has been grounds for nullifying results in previous elections. The fact that such allegations are emerging from the leading party's own agents suggests the irregularities may be significant enough to affect the final outcome or trigger legal challenges.
Meanwhile, in Kano State, the APC secured uncontested victories in State Assembly bye-elections after the main opposition New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) opted out of the races. The bye-elections were organized to fill vacancies created by the deaths of two Kano lawmakers in December, according to Premium Times. The NNPP's decision to withdraw from the contests handed the APC straightforward wins, though the circumstances raise questions about the opposition party's electoral strategy in Nigeria's second-most populous state.
Kano has been a battleground between the APC and NNPP since the 2023 general elections, when NNPP's Abba Kabir Yusuf won the governorship in a closely contested race that required tribunal intervention. The opposition party's decision to opt out of these legislative bye-elections represents a significant tactical shift, potentially signaling resource constraints or strategic repositioning ahead of more consequential contests. For the APC, the uncontested wins strengthen its position in the Kano State House of Assembly, though victories without competition offer limited insight into the party's actual electoral strength in the state.
The dual developments in FCT and Kano illustrate the complex dynamics shaping Nigeria's electoral landscape between major election cycles. While the APC continues to demonstrate organizational capacity to contest and win elections across different regions, the credibility questions emerging from its own agents and the lack of competitive races in Kano suggest deeper systemic issues. Election observers and civil society organizations will likely scrutinize these contests closely as indicators of INEC's preparedness for the 2027 general elections, when President Bola Tinubu is expected to seek a second term.
As collation continues in Kuje with two wards still outstanding, the resolution of the overvoting allegations could set important precedents for how electoral authorities handle irregularities when raised by winning parties. The final certified results from both FCT and Kano will provide crucial data points for assessing whether Nigeria's electoral reforms are taking root at the grassroots level or whether fundamental challenges persist in ensuring free, fair, and credible elections.