The National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Felix Morka, has defended the conduct of last Saturday’s by-elections, describing them as largely credible despite opposition claims of sabotage, vote-buying and violence.
Speaking in an interview on ARISE News on Tuesday, Morka argued that no election anywhere in the world is perfect but insisted the exercise across 16 constituencies in 12 states was “generally free and fair.”
“No election is universally hitch-free. Almost nowhere in the world you have an election where you can say it was 100% hitch-free,” Morka said. “The election we had last Saturday was generally free and fair, with exceptions in some cases where there was clear evidence of violence.”
Morka acknowledged reports of disruptions in Kano State, particularly in the Ogun district, where violence marred the polls.
“I even had to issue a statement asking that INEC should cancel that election,” he disclosed. “But having said that, overall, the election was pretty good. The outcomes are very clear and telling.”
He however noted that the APC itself was prepared to challenge some results where irregularities occurred, including in Kano where the party had called for cancellation of a constituency election marred by violence. “Right now, we are spoiling to challenge that outcome. And that’s the nature of democracy. Democracy is not a utopian process where nothing goes wrong. Things do go wrong, but the system anticipates that and provides legal and institutional mechanisms for people to challenge results where they feel dissatisfied,” he explained.
He took aim at opposition parties, accusing them of using election results as an excuse to discredit the process rather than admitting their poor performance. “It’s become fashionable in our country for those who sit on their hands, who don’t do enough to compete for votes, to wait until the results are announced and then go to town speaking a lot of profanities,” he stated.
“The ADC should be explaining to Nigerians how they came up with such a very austere outing after all the propaganda about their prominence in our democratic space. They should be making that explanation, not pointing fingers at the APC. We mobilised, got votes, went out there, and our candidates prevailed.”
On the performance of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Morka dismissed claims that the electoral body deliberately compromised the polls. “I don’t know of a time in the history of our democracy when the electoral body was ever free from criticism by those who lose elections,” saying that, “Typically, people who lose elections have no incentive to accept responsibility, so they look for a scapegoat to blame for their loss. That’s what we’re seeing again it’s just going by the old playbook.”
On whether INEC had performed well, he categorically stated that, “INEC conducted the elections, INEC called the results. To give you an example, in Kano we had a lot of violence, where we even called for cancellation, but INEC went ahead to declare that result. Right now, we are preparing to challenge that outcome.”
He stressed that the system allows for grievances to be addressed legally. “Democracy is not about a utopian process where nothing goes wrong. Things go wrong. But the system anticipates that and makes provisions for people to challenge outcomes where they feel dissatisfied.”
Morka insisted that despite the opposition’s criticism, the by-elections had reinforced Nigerians’ trust in the APC and in President Bola Tinubu’s leadership. He said the party would not be distracted by what he described as “excuses and empty allegations,” but would instead focus on consolidating its support base ahead of 2027.
“Our candidates worked hard, our party mobilised, and Nigerians spoke through the ballot. We are confident that this victory is not just a momentary success, but a pointer to the enduring strength of the APC,” Morka concluded.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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