Gombe State Governor, Inuwa Yahaya, has described the Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency by-election as peaceful and well organised, while commending voters for turning out in significant numbers despite the exercise being a bye-election.
Yahaya spoke on Saturday after casting his ballot at his polling unit in Jekadafari Ward, Gombe Local Government Area.
The governor said the conduct of voters and the level of participation had given him a positive impression of the exercise.
“The election is well organised and very peaceful. You can see that the turnout is very, very good. I’m happy that people are very enthusiastic despite the fact that it is a by-election,” Yahaya said.
He also expressed confidence in the electoral prospects of his party, the All Progressives Congress, attributing its acceptance among voters to what he described as development recorded under his administration.
Yahaya said reports from other parts of the federal constituency indicated that voting was proceeding without major disruption across Gombe, Kwami and Funakaye local government areas.
He called on voters, political parties and other participants to preserve the calm recorded during the exercise through the subsequent stages of the electoral process.
The governor also said the conduct of the poll could provide useful experience ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Security personnel maintained visible patrols around polling units and collation centres across the three local government areas as voting progressed.
An election observer, Professor Umar Adam, separately assessed the exercise at his Baba Adamu Shugaba polling unit in Bakin Kasuwa, Daban Fulani, Kwami Local Government Area.
Adam said voters whose identities were successfully verified were accredited and allowed to cast their ballots.
He added that he did not witness intimidation of opposition supporters at the polling unit he observed.
The by-election is being conducted across 903 polling units in Gombe, Kwami and Funakaye local government areas.
The seat became vacant following the death of the former representative of the constituency, Yaya Bauchi Tongo.
The scale of the election means that the conduct of voting across the three local government areas is being closely watched by political parties, electoral officials and security agencies.
The APC candidate, Musa Kallamu, also gave a positive assessment of the process during the exercise.
Kallamu said the situation across Gombe, Kwami and Funakaye was encouraging, particularly in relation to preparations by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
He noted that both male and female voters were participating and complying with the procedures at polling locations.
The separate assessments from the governor, an election observer and the APC candidate point to an exercise that, at the time of their observations, had proceeded without reported disruption at the locations they visited.
Security personnel are expected to continue monitoring polling and collation points until the electoral authorities complete the process and announce the result.
The outcome will determine who takes over the federal constituency seat in the House of Representatives left vacant by Tongo’s death.
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