Gombe By-Election: Peaceful Voting, Uneven Turnout Across Polling Units

Voting was largely peaceful and orderly on Saturday in the Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency bye-election.

Although reports from some polling units pointed to voter apathy.

The election is being conducted across 903 polling units in Gombe, Kwami and Funakaye Local Government Areas to fill the vacant House of Representatives seat following the death of the former lawmaker, Yaya Bauchi Tongo, in June 2026.

INEC had scheduled voting for September 19 from 8:30am to 2:30pm.

At polling units monitored in Daban Fulani Ward of Kwami Local Government Area, a home town of the APC candidate for the election, Engineer Dr Usman Maijamaa Kallamu, voters and party agents described the exercise as generally peaceful, with no reports of violence or intimidation.

A voter, Babayo Abubakar, simply described the process as “going well and successful.”

Professor Umar Adamu, a lecturer at Gombe State University who voted at Bakin Kasuwa Baba Adamu polling unit, also described the election as peaceful and orderly.

“Today’s exercise is very successful and peaceful. As you can see, people have come out to exercise their franchise by casting their votes to the political party of their choice and to their preferred candidate,” he said.

Adamu said he did not observe intimidation of opposition supporters, adding that electoral officials and materials arrived early at his polling unit.

“Some of the materials arrived since yesterday. Early in the morning, the electoral officials had already reported to the polling units, and people had lined up. Accreditation was successful,” he said.

He, however, raised concern over the limited number of political parties participating in the bye-election, saying the situation could discourage some voters whose preferred parties were not on the ballot.

According to reports ahead of the election, five parties fielded candidates for the contest, although Adamu said only four were visible on the ballot paper at his polling unit.

Low turnout reported in some areas

While some polling units recorded queues of voters, reports from across parts of the constituency indicated relatively low voter participation.

The situation, however, contrasts with Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya’s assessment after casting his ballot at his polling unit in Jekadafari Ward, Gombe Local Government Area.

The governor described the election as peaceful and said the turnout was “very, very good”, expressing satisfaction with voters’ participation.

“This is a bye-election, but looking at the acceptability of our party, owing to the enormous development we have brought, I am optimistic that my party is going to achieve victory,” Yahaya said.

However, independent reports from some polling locations in Gombe Local Government Area observed low turnout during the morning hours. One report, for instance, noted relatively low participation around Pantami as of about 10:07am.

The contrasting observations suggest that voter participation was uneven across the constituency rather than uniformly high or low.

A Labour Party agent at Sarkin Kasuwa polling Unit at Daban Fulani ward said men had turned out in large numbers earlier in the morning, followed by women after a brief lull.

He, however, identified delays with the biometric accreditation process as a minor challenge.

“Photography during voting is causing a slight delay because it is slow due to some hitches with the card readers,” the agent said, while maintaining that voting was proceeding according to procedure.

APC candidate expresses confidence

The APC candidate, Engineer Maijamaa Kallamu, also described the exercise as satisfactory, saying he was comfortable with the arrangements made by the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC.

He said voters were turning out in queues, including both men and women, and expressed his expectation of winning the election.

The APC candidate said he believed opposition parties had been given room to participate freely, but added that the opposition should be asked to independently assess the situation.

Security agencies maintain presence

The Gombe State Police Command said adequate personnel had been deployed across polling units and collation centres within the constituency.

The Gombe state Police Command’s spokesman, DSP Buhari Abdullahi, said sustained visibility patrols were ongoing and that the overall situation remained calm.

“Adequate security personnel have been deployed across all polling units and collation centres. Sustained visibility patrols are ongoing, while the overall situation remains calm and under close monitoring,” DSP Buhari said.

With voting proceeding peacefully at the time of filing this report, the major emerging feature of the bye-election was the contrast between the absence of major security incidents and uneven voter participation across polling locations.

The election will determine who succeeds the late Tongo as representative of the Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.

Political parties that were initially fielded candidates for the bye-election include the ruling APC, represented by Engineer Kallamu Allied Peoples Party (APP), Yaya Alfa Muhammad; Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Gaddafi Haruna; New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Abdulkarim Abdulmajib; and Labour Party (LP), Maigari Jungudo.