APC’s Asogwa Wins Enugu North Amid Disputed By-elections

The Enugu North Senatorial by-election has ended with a decisive victory for the All Progressives Congress (APC), but the result is already mired in controversy.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Ikeje Asogwa winner of the poll, securing 162,360 votes. His closest rival, Nestor Ezeme of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), managed 9,299 votes.

The candidates could not catch up with the margin. NDC, ADC, LP, PRP and BOOT got less than 5,000 votes. The victory also shows that the APC, has increased its political base in Enugu State, an area hitherto the stronghold of the PDP.

In his acceptance remarks, Asogwa thanked voters for their confidence. He credited Governor Peter Mbah’s leadership for the party’s success and extended gratitude to deputy governor, party leaders, traditional rulers, religious figures, youth groups, women’s associations, security agencies, electoral officials, and the media. He pledged to deliver quality representation in the Senate.

Despite the official declaration, opposition parties swiftly rejected the outcome. PDP candidate Ezeme alleged widespread violence, claiming armed thugs disrupted voting in Udenu Local Government Area. He accused APC of orchestrating ballot snatching and voter intimidation, describing the exercise as a “rape of democracy.”

The PRP also condemned the process. Its National Vice Chairman (South-East), Peter Okafor, demanded cancellation, citing thuggery, ballot box snatching, and intimidation. Juliet Ugwuja, Director-General of the PRP Campaign Organisation, alleged that party agents were chased out of polling units and vowed to challenge the result in court.

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Victims of Violence Some Voters and residents said one man, identified as Sunday Ofoma was shot in Nsukka while another, Sunday Ugwuja was brutalized with axe while queuing to vote.

Two journalists covering the election — Chinazom Amadi of Dega Voice Newspaper and Uche Okwuanyionu of Lion FM — were arrested by security operatives but later released. These incidents have raised concerns about press freedom and the safety of electoral observers.

APC leaders in Udenu and Igbo-Eze North dismissed the allegations, insisting the election was free and fair. Dr. Innocent Ezeoha and Onyekachi Simon argued that the party mobilised effectively and that the outcome reflected the will of the people. They expressed confidence that Asogwa would represent the district with distinction.

The by-election was conducted to fill the vacant Enugu North Senatorial seat. But in a nation where elections are still frequently mired in fraud and violence, including this Saturday’s election where an APC win gives the ruling party more political power in the South-East, it’s far too early to call.

Even with the scale of APC victory likely to show how political alignments are shifting in Enugu, there is an obvious lingering problem with the integrity of the process-and other opposition parties are likely already making preparations to get to court.

In Nigeria, where there is sometimes much more drama around any election than there is within it, voters will be holding their breath as they watch what happens over the next few weeks.

For voters, especially those in Enugu North, where intimidation has reportedly been prevalent, a clean win such as Asogwa’s in a violence-fraught election could be an even worse indication of the health of the electoral process.

“How am I sure my votes were counted when there was intimidation? Is this real or fake?” a voter told DW reporter Chuks Ojiba in a local language spoken around the areas where the by-elections were held. INEC has been under increasing pressure to take all possible steps, including ensuring adequate security at polling stations and the protection of journalists and electoral observers, to ensure elections of credibility for the sake of building up confidence in the country’s institutions of democracy.

A clear victory in Enugu North could do a lot for APC; this controversial vote, however, has confirmed for many Nigerians that elections just won’t be what they seem to be anytime soon, and the outcome, in this case of Enugu North by-elections, will likely end in the hands of judges – and it has a long way to go.