The All Progressive Congress (APC) has emerged winner of the Yobe National Assembly bye election held on Saturday across four council areas of the state.
The National Assembly bye election was conducted to fill the vacant seat left by the Minister of State Foreign Affairs, Hon. Khadija Bukar Ibrahim, who vacated the seat to serve in the Buhari-led administration.
Declaring the results, the returning officer of the election, Prof Sunday Alao, said the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Abdullahi Usman Kukuwa scored a total of 23, 745 votes to defeat his closest rival, Mr Nasiru Hassan Yusuf of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 6990 votes.
Other candidates, Mr Adamu Mohammed Dina of the Advance Congress for Democracy (ACD) scored a total of 163 votes to emerge third, while the candidate of the National Conscience Party (NCP), Mr Jibrin Ladan scored 139 votes.
Agents of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) at the collation centre, Mr Hassan Abba and his All Progressives Congress (APC) counterpart, Dr Zaji Bunu accepted the outcome of the election and commended INEC, security personnel, observers, and monitors among others for the hitch free exercise.
The four party agents, who all signed the result sheet of the election congratulated Mr Abdullahi Usman Kukuwa of the APC for the victory and wished him a productive representation at the National Assembly.
The Yobe State Commissioner of Police, Mr Zannah Ibrahim, while speaking at the collation centre said the exercise recorded no incident of violence in any of the participating Local Governments and praised the participating political parties for the maturity exhibited before and during the election.
With the emergence of Abdullahi Usman Kukuwa as elected member of the House of Representatives, the state is set for yet another bye election to fill the vacant position left by the lawmaker representing Gulani Constituency in the State House of Assembly.
The seat contested for was the Damaturu, Gujba, Gulani, Tarmuwa Federal Constituency located within the Yobe East Senatorial zone of the state.
With the victory of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the bye election, the state currently has two of the three senatorial seats and five out of the six seats in the House of Representatives.