The All Progressives Congress (APC) has swept all three bye elections conducted on Saturday by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Kaduna State.
In the result for the Chikun/Kajuru federal constituency election, APC’s candidate, Felix Bagudu, polled a total of 34,580 votes to defeat the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, who scored 11,491 votes to come second.
A breakdown of the results shows that APC won for the first time in Kajuru with 10,487 votes, while PDP got 6,789 votes. In Chikun, APC scored 24,093 votes while PDP got 4,702 votes.
This is the first time APC has won the two local governments that have been the stronghold of the PDP since the return of democratic rule in 1999.
APC also swept the two Kaduna state bye-elections for Zaria Kewaye and Basawa constituencies.
Announcing the result of Zaria Kewaye constituency on Sunday, the returning officer, Professor Balarabe Abdullahi, declared APC candidate, Isa Haruna Ihamo, winner with 26,613 votes while his closest challenger, Nuhu Sada Abdullahi of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) polled 5, 721 votes, with the PDP candidate, Mamuda Abdullahi Wappa, coming third with 5,331 votes.
Similarly, in the Basawa state constituency bye-election, the returning officer, Professor Nasiru Rabiu, announced the APC emerged victorious with 10,926 votes, defeating the PDP’s candidate, who scored 5,499 votes.
The twin victories strengthened the APC’s political dominance in Kaduna, particularly in the Zaria zone, where the contests were seen as a test of strength between the ruling party and the opposition.