President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has described the All Progressives Congress’ victory in four of the five legislative by-elections held at the weekend as evidence of continuing grassroots support for his administration’s reforms and the ruling party.

The President, who congratulated all the winners of the polls conducted across Gombe, Kano, Bauchi and Delta states, said Nigerians should remain steadfast as the benefits of the economic reforms implemented by his administration over the past three years become more evident.

The APC won four of the five seats contested in Saturday’s elections, while the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) secured the remaining seat in Bauchi State. The polls covered one federal constituency and four state constituencies.

In a statement on Sunday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu said the outcome reflected confidence in the APC’s capacity to govern and deliver what he described as shared prosperity.

“I am encouraged by the support Nigerians at the grassroots continue to show for our party and for the difficult but necessary reforms our administration has implemented over the past three years.

“I urge Nigerians to remain steadfast and not be swayed by political opportunism. The benefits of these reforms will become increasingly evident as we enter the next phase of our programme”, the President said.

The APC candidates returned elected were Kallamu MaiJama’a for Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency in Gombe State; Husseini Datti for Dawakin Kudu State Constituency in Kano State; Okolosi Ator for Udu State Constituency in Delta State; and Yakubu Ali for Disina State Constituency in Bauchi State.

Adamu Yakubu of the APM won the Sakwa State Constituency seat in Bauchi State.

Results from the polls showed that MaiJama’a polled 41,121 votes in Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye, while Datti secured 22,890 votes in Dawakin Kudu. Ator won Udu with 8,724 votes, while Ali polled 5,846 votes to take Disina. In Sakwa, Yakubu secured 8,515 votes to give the APM its sole victory.

Tinubu urged the five winners to regard their victories as a mandate for service and justify the confidence reposed in them by their constituents through diligent and effective representation.

He also appealed to candidates who lost the elections to accept the results in good faith and continue to contribute to the country’s democratic process.

The President commended voters and security agencies for maintaining peace and order during the exercise and praised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the conduct of the polls.

He, however, urged the electoral commission to consolidate on the progress recorded and address shortcomings identified during the by-elections ahead of future electoral exercises, particularly the forthcoming general elections.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, had described the by-elections as important tests of the commission’s preparedness, saying lessons from the exercise would be deployed to improve its logistics, technology and field operations ahead of the general elections. (The Nation)