The lamentation by the Labour Party (LP) over the shoddy conduct of the just concluded August 9, 2025 by-elections in some states contradicts the encomium showered on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT). According to the Labour Party, the election was a mockery of democracy and a travesty of justice against the people of Nigeria. In other words, it was a replay of the infamy that associates with elections in Nigeria. Nothing has changed.
In its reaction to the polls, Labour Party decried the rigging, violence and vote buying that were recorded in the states where the elections took place. The LP noted that the development was a ‘’dangerous dress rehearsal of what may befall us in 2027 if citizens do not act swiftly to halt this brigandage.’’ The interim national chairman of the LP Senator Nenadi Usman, claimed that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), colluded with agencies assigned to monitor the elections to perpetrate alleged fraudulent practices.
‘’From Kaduna to Anambra, Ogun to Oyo and Kano, the narrative remained the same – large-scale rigging, brazen vote-buying and violence defined the process. Independent accounts confirmed that the ruling APC was often in collusion with security agencies, stood at the very centre of these shameful acts that desecrated the election space’’.
“If INEC cannot conduct minor off season elections with integrity, one shudders at the thought of how it intends to manage the nationwide polls of 2027.’’ stated its spokesman, Mr. Ken Asogwa.
The party criticized the Independent National Electoral Commission for allegedly obstructing free and fair voting. It recalled how in 2023, the Commission looked the other way while opposition political parties were denied fair participation in the elections .
“True to character, under Professor Mahmoud Yakubu, after two years of the brazen electoral heist that robbed the LP and the Nigerian people of their mandate, we had hoped that the passage of time would inspire Yakubu to, at least, attempt a semblance of redemption – a pretence at leaving behind a legacy”.
But in his own reaction, President Tinubu lauded the by-election winners, and at the same time commended INEC for “hitch-free polls” mostly devoid of violence.
In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu hailed the conduct of the electoral body and called on the political parties to embrace sportsmanship.
The by-elections were conducted in 12 States and across 16 constituencies. The President thanked the electorate for their confidence in the APC, assuring them that his administration’s Renewed Hope agenda would deliver a better, more secure and prosperous Nigeria.
The results released by the INEC showed that the APC won in 12 constituencies, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) won in two, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won in one and the New Nigeria People Party (NNPP) won in one.
The by-elections were held to fill vacancies created by resignations and deaths of sitting lawmakers. Polls were conducted in Jigawa, Edo, Ogun, Oyo, Adamawa, Anambra, Kaduna, Kano, Taraba, Kogi, Niger, Enugu and Zamfara states.
In Edo, the PDP rejected the results of the senatorial and House of Representatives by-elections held on august 6th, 2025. The PDP accused INEC of deliberate sabotage, and described the election as a severe blow to Nigeria’s democratic integrity. INEC had announced the APC candidates as the winners.
In Kano the NNPP rejected the Tsanyawa/Ghari re-run results and accused INEC of manipulation. In a statement by the Chairman of the NNPP in Kano state, Hashima Dangurawa, the party alleged that INEC acted outside its powers by declaring results at its headquarters in Kano rather than at the constituency collation center.
“The manipulations orchestrated against our candidate in the Tsanyawa/Ghari re-run elections cannot be condoned.” Dungurara said. ”This is unacceptable and complete denial of the electorates right to vote …massively and cast their votes largely for the NNPP candidate.”
And that was it – a glimpse of another round of contentious election that clearly undermines our fledgling democracy. That was another round of Nigerian election brand filled with anger, complaints and dissatisfaction everywhere. The irony of the Nigerian factor is apparent in many respects. The failure of leadership is at the centre of it all.
The history of elections in Nigeria is a history of rancor and acrimony. There has hardly been a time that Nigeria had conducted a free and fair election. Every election is followed with violence, thugery, ballot box snatching and or stuffing. No election in Nigeria has ever received a clean bill of approval.
As children in the 60s, before the outbreak of the civil war, the old folks told us stories of ballot boxes catching fire at polling stations. Those were the precursors of todays ballot box snatching. In those days, separate ballot boxes were placed side by side for the different political parties and voters lined up to drop their ballot in the box of the candidate of their choice.
But when opponents observed that more people were voting for a particular party and candidate, the ballot box of the leading party mysteriously caught fire and the votes got burnt. The voting ended in fiasco. People ran helter-skelter for their lives with injuries.
Those early ugly experiences led to the introduction of one ballot box for all parties and candidates, such that in the event of a mysterious fire, all the votes would be burnt and not just that of one party. That was the trend until during the Second Republic in the late 70s and early 80s, when politicians introduced more devious practices including ballot box snatching and stuffing and multiple announcements of results. Election then was a matter of show of force.
During the Third Republic of the Obasanjo era, the culture of do-or-die politics birthed with a supper rigging machinery used to steal votes/victory openly and impose candidates as winners against the wish of the people. This treacherous political culture pervades the polity till now. It dictated who won the general elections in 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023.
Judging from what happened in the just concluded by-elections, the forth-coming 2027 elections will be anything different. That is the bitter truth. With President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the saddle as president seeking re-election for a second term, the battle line has been drawn between the APC and the opposition gathering under the ADC and LP. The battle would be fiercer, more violent and even bloody. INEC would do the usual job of betraying the trust and confidence of the people. It promises to be a historic fight for power.
Dr. Onyekakeyah, a former member of The Guardian Editorial Board, is a public affairs commentator and Daily Query columnist.
