The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Olaka Nwogu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the Rivers South-East Senatorial District by-election held on Saturday.

The Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Rosemary Ogu, announced the results at the senatorial district collation centre in Bori, Khana Local Council Area, stating that Nwogu secured a total of 47,961 votes to emerge as the winner.

According to the official results released by INEC, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Osarosaka Ebenezer, polled 1,647 votes, while the Action Alliance (AA) candidate, Douglas Fabeke, scored 1,175 votes. The Labour Party (LP) candidate, Sam Bariboa, came fourth with 367 votes.

The by-election was conducted to fill the vacancy created by the death of the late Senator Barinada Mpigi, who represented the district before his passing earlier this year.

Nwogu’s overwhelming victory further underscores the political influence of the coalition of parties aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

The four political parties that participated in the election — PDP, APC, AA and LP — are all members of the political alliance popularly known as the “Rainbow Coalition.”

Speaking after his declaration, Nwogu pledged to provide effective representation for the people of the senatorial district and expressed appreciation to voters for their support.

IN a similar development, the PDP candidate in Saturday’s senatorial by-election in Enugu North, Enugu State, Dr Nestor Ezeme, has rejected the outcome of the exercise, saying he would approach the court to recover the mandate.

INEC had declared the APC candidate, Ikeje Asogwa, as the winner of the Enugu North Senatorial by-election. Announcing the result at the INEC office in Nsukka yesterday, the Returning Officer, Prof. Christian Ezeibe, said Asogwa secured 162,360 votes to defeat Ezeme, who garnered 9,299 votes.

Reacting to the outcome, the Director of Media and Strategy Communication for the Ikeje Asogwa Campaign Organisation, Samson Ezea, described the victory as a clear reflection of the widespread support enjoyed by the APC candidate across the six local council areas in Enugu North.

But Ezeme kicked against the results, alleging that it was a “pure” manipulation and did not reflect the actual voting by the people of the zone.

MEANWHILE, the Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, has congratulated the winner and candidate of APC in Saturday’s by-election for Enugu North Senatorial District, Asogwa, describing the landslide victory as an affirmation of the party’s overwhelming acceptance and dominance in the state’s politics.

Mbah noted that the people of the senatorial district had not only made the best choice for quality representation, but had also demonstrated total alignment with the APC.