APC sweeps Zuru by-election, retains Kebbi Assembly seat

By Our Reporter

Birnin Kebbi – The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Rabiu Garba Aiki of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the Zuru State Constituency by-election for the Kebbi State House of Assembly.

The result was announced on Saturday at the collation centre in Birnin Kebbi by the Collation Officer, Professor Muhammad Bashar Danladi of the Federal University Birnin Kebbi.

According to the results released by INEC, Aiki secured 4,871 votes to defeat his closest rival, Aliyu Galadima Muhammad of the Labour Party (LP), who polled 168 votes.

Professor Danladi stated that the constituency has a total of 109,385 registered voters, while 5,156 voters were accredited for the election. He added that 5,055 valid votes were cast, while 95 ballots were rejected.

A breakdown of the results showed that the APC dominated all 10 wards in the constituency, maintaining a comfortable lead throughout the collation process.

In Tadurga Ward, the APC scored 226 votes against the LP’s 10 votes, while in Isgogo-Dago Ward, the APC secured 116 votes compared to the LP’s one vote.

The APC also won Rumu-Dabai-Seme Ward with 446 votes against six votes for the LP, and Rikoto Ward with 475 votes against 14 votes. In Zodi Ward, the APC garnered 257 votes while the LP received 14 votes.

Further results showed that the APC polled 830 votes in Bedi Ward against the LP’s 34 votes, while in Senchi Ward, the party secured 659 votes compared to 16 votes for the LP.

In Rafin Zuru Ward, which recorded the highest number of accredited voters, the APC won with 1,042 votes, while the LP scored 63 votes. Chiroman Dabai Ward delivered 199 votes for the APC and one vote for the LP, while Manga-Ushe Ward recorded 637 votes for the APC and nine votes for the LP.

The by-election was conducted to fill the vacancy created by the death of the former Speaker of the Kebbi State House of Assembly, Muhammad Usman Zuru.

The exercise was generally peaceful but witnessed low voter turnout across most wards, despite the large number of registered voters in the constituency.