The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described last Saturday’s by-elections as largely credible, accusing opposition parties of making excuses for their defeat.
Felix Morka, national publicity secretary of the ruling party, said while there were isolated cases of violence, the elections conducted across 16 constituencies in 12 states were “generally free and fair”.
Speaking on ARISE News on Tuesday, Morka said, “No election is universally hitch-free. Almost nowhere in the world you have an election where you can say it was 100 percent hitch-free.
“The election we had last Saturday was generally free and fair, with exceptions in some cases where there was clear evidence of violence.”
He acknowledged disruptions in Kano state and revealed that the APC had called for a cancellation of the vote there.
“I even had to issue a statement asking that INEC should cancel that election.
“But having said that, overall, the election was pretty good. The outcomes are very clear and telling,” he said.
Morka said the APC is preparing to challenge some of the results where irregularities occurred, insisting the party would explore legal options.
“Right now, we are spoiling to challenge that outcome. And that’s the nature of democracy. Democracy is not a utopian process where nothing goes wrong.
“Things do go wrong, but the system anticipates that and provides legal and institutional mechanisms for people to challenge results where they feel dissatisfied,” he said.
He criticised opposition parties for their reactions, suggesting they were using unfounded allegations to cover up their poor electoral performance.
“It’s become fashionable in our country for those who sit on their hands, who don’t do enough to compete for votes, to wait until the results are announced and then go to town speaking a lot of profanities,” he said.
Morka specifically called out the African Democratic Congress (ADC) over what he described as a disappointing performance, despite its previous rhetoric.
His words: “The ADC should be explaining to Nigerians how they came up with such a very austere outing after all the propaganda about their prominence in our democratic space.
“They should be making that explanation, not pointing fingers at the APC. We mobilised, got votes, went out there, and our candidates prevailed.”
On claims that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was compromised, Morka dismissed the criticism as routine from losing parties.
“I don’t know of a time in the history of our democracy when the electoral body was ever free from criticism by those who lose elections. Only losers cry foul.
“Typically, people who lose elections have no incentive to accept responsibility, so they look for a scapegoat to blame for their loss. That’s what we’re seeing again. It’s just going by the old playbook, he added.
He stressed that INEC conducted the elections and announced results within the framework provided by law.
Morka said the outcome of the by-elections reflected public confidence in the APC and in the leadership of President Bola Tinubu.
“Our candidates worked hard, our party mobilised, and Nigerians spoke through the ballot. We are confident that this victory is not just a momentary success, but a pointer to the enduring strength of the APC,” he said.