Former Minister of Information and Labour Party senatorial candidate, Labaran Maku, has rejected the outcome of the Nasarawa North Senatorial District by-election held on Saturday, June 20, 2026, describing the exercise as flawed and calling for its outright cancellation and the conduct of a fresh poll.
Maku made his position known on Sunday during a press briefing held in Wakama, Nasarawa Eggon Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, where he strongly criticised the conduct of the election and the process that led to the declaration of results by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to the official declaration by INEC, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Halilu Danladi Envulu-Anza, emerged winner of the contest with a total of 45,362 votes. The Labour Party candidate, Labaran Maku, came second with 12,931 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Emmanuel David Ombugadu, polled 11,570 votes.
However, Maku dismissed the results, insisting that the election did not meet basic standards of credibility and electoral integrity. He alleged widespread irregularities across several polling units, including incidents of voter intimidation, manipulation of election materials, and malfunctioning of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), which is meant to ensure transparency in voter accreditation.
He further claimed that in some areas, voting either did not take place or was severely disrupted, adding that electoral officials failed to properly address complaints raised by party agents during the collation of results. According to him, the collation process was compromised, with reports of irregular transmission and aggregation of figures from polling units.
Maku also alleged that in some polling locations, there were cases of manual voting and thumb-printing of ballot papers without proper BVAS accreditation, a development he described as a serious breach of Nigeria’s electoral guidelines. He maintained that these issues collectively undermined the credibility of the entire exercise and rendered the outcome unacceptable.
The Labour Party candidate stated that his party had officially rejected the result and would pursue all legal and political channels available to challenge the outcome. He called on INEC to take responsibility for the alleged lapses and organise a fresh election that would reflect the genuine will of the electorate in the senatorial district.
In response, INEC has yet to issue a formal statement addressing the specific allegations raised by Maku or his demand for a rerun. The commission had earlier declared the APC candidate winner following the completion of collation across the affected local government areas.
The by-election was conducted to fill the vacant Nasarawa North Senate seat following the death of former senator Godiya Akwashiki, who previously represented the district at the National Assembly.
As political tensions continue to rise in the aftermath of the election, observers say the controversy may likely escalate into legal disputes if the Labour Party proceeds with its challenge at the election tribunal.
For now, attention remains focused on whether INEC will respond to the allegations or maintain its position on the declared result. Visit www.jocomms.com for more news.
