Nasarawa North by‑election: Governor Sule praises the process, Maku alleges irregularities

The by‑election for the Nasarawa North Senatorial District, held on Saturday, 20 June 2026, drew divergent reactions from political figures. Governor Abdullahi Sule praised the conduct of the exercise, while former Minister of Information Labaran Maku complained of irregularities and technical problems at some polling units.

Governor Sule, who voted at Polling Unit 002 in Gudi Motor Park together with his wives, Hajiya Silifat Abdullahi Sule and Hajiya Farida Abdullahi Sule, described the election as “one of the smoothest” he had seen in recent years.

Speaking to reporters shortly after voting, the governor said he was satisfied with the accreditation and voting process.

“For me, this is the smoothest it has ever been. From BVAS accreditation to casting my ballot, it took just three to five minutes. Historically, this is the fastest I’ve seen,” he said.

Sule also dismissed speculation that the by‑election would serve as a barometer of his political influence ahead of the 2027 general elections, insisting that the contest was more a test of the popularity and performance of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

“It is an opportunity for the people of Nasarawa North to say thank you to APC. By the grace of God, we are going to see a ‘thank you’ result,” he added.

In contrast, Maku, who voted at his Wakama Ward polling unit, raised concerns about widespread failures of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in parts of the senatorial district.

Although he said his own accreditation was seamless, the former minister claimed that many voters experienced difficulties and were left waiting for hours because of malfunctioning devices.

“Quite a number of people, the BVAS could not capture their fingerprints and they have been waiting there since morning,” Maku alleged.

He urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deploy facial‑recognition technology where fingerprint verification fails, noting that voters’ photographs are already in the electoral register.

Maku also said similar technical challenges were reported in several polling centres, including Wamba Central and Wamba Clinic, where officials struggled to repair faulty accreditation machines.

He added that some BVAS devices exhausted their internet data allocation after processing only a few voters.

“At my polling unit, we had to volunteer data to INEC officials to enable them continue the accreditation process,” he said.

Beyond the technical concerns, Maku alleged reports of multiple thumb‑printing of ballot papers in some communities, including Alushi and Wacho, though no official confirmation had been issued by electoral authorities at the time of this report.

Despite his concerns, the former minister noted that voting remained largely peaceful across many polling units but cautioned that tensions often arise during the collation phase.

“It is when results are being collated that people introduce violence when they see they are not winning,” he warned, urging security agencies to provide adequate protection during the movement and collation of election results.

Maku also criticized what he described as a growing culture of “win‑at‑all‑costs” politics, arguing that elected governments should rely on their performance and development records rather than political manipulation to secure victory.

According to him, public confidence in the electoral process would improve if election disputes were determined based on the substance of complaints rather than technical legal considerations.

The by‑election was conducted to fill the vacant Nasarawa North Senatorial seat following the death of Godiya Akwashiki.

At press time, INEC had not issued an official response to the allegations of BVAS malfunction or other reported irregularities, while collation of results was ongoing.