Yiaga Africa has confirmed that the Independent National Electoral Commission’s, INEC, official results for the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election align with its own independent tally, but the group raised red flags over widespread vote buying and inconsistencies in voter turnout data.

Speaking in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday, the election observer group said its Process and Results Verification for Transparency, PRVT, methodology showed that INEC’s declared results matched ballots counted at polling units.

Yiaga Africa commended INEC for improvements in logistics and conduct, including early deployment of materials and personnel, prompt accreditation and voting, and a generally peaceful atmosphere across the state.

However, the group highlighted key concerns: rampant voter inducement, weak management of sensitive materials, poor public communication on late administrative and judicial decisions, and turnout figures that don’t add up.

“The numbers: Yiaga’s statistical projections estimated the All Progressives Congress (APC) at 83.9–87.1% of votes, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at 8.5–11.7%, and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) at 2.9–4.1%. All fell within INEC’s announced results.

“The turnout gap: Yiaga’s estimated turnout was 34.1–38.2%, while INEC announced 38.7%. Yiaga noted INEC appeared to use the 2022 registered voters figure instead of the updated 2026 register.

Yiaga recommended that “INEC should clarify the turnout discrepancy and tighten quality control for sensitive materials ahead of future polls, including the 2027 general elections.

“Security agencies need to crack down harder on vote buying and voter intimidation.

“Political parties must better train polling agents on electoral laws and guidelines.

“Regulating incumbency powers and the use of state resources is critical to ensure fair competition.

“Yiaga Africa stressed that while election administration has improved, vote buying and management lapses remain serious threats to Nigeria’s electoral integrity.”

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and former Niger State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Jonathan Vatsa, has warned that Nigeria risks sliding into anarchy ahead of the 2027 general elections, blaming what he described as the disturbing role of the judiciary and the body language of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Speaking with journalists in Minna on Sunday after a thanksgiving service to mark his 64th birthday, Vatsa said the country’s hard-earned democracy could be endangered if the two institutions fail to act impartially.

He also predicted an impending explosion within the ruling party, saying the crisis brewing in the APC would surpass those in all opposition parties combined.

According to him, the failure of the party to announce the outcome of its primary elections nearly two months after they were conducted is evidence that the APC is sitting on a time bomb.

“The day the results are released will mark the beginning of the mother of all crises in the APC,” he declared.

Vatsa described the crises in opposition parties as “sponsored”, insisting that the APC’s troubles are self-inflicted and more threatening.

He warned that both the judiciary and INEC should be held responsible if the country descends into political turmoil ahead of 2027.

“Their actions and body language are capable of throwing the country into anarchy and truncating democracy,” he said.

The former APC publicity secretary in Niger State accused the party of abandoning internal democracy during its recent primaries, alleging that about 80 per cent of candidates in the state emerged through a “Government House-arranged consensus.”

He described the process as “the biggest political deceit since 1999,” arguing that it amounted to the imposition of candidates and would eventually backfire.

Questioning the fairness of allowing some politicians to seek a sixth term while others pursuing a second term were forced to step down, Vatsa warned that the perceived injustice could fuel anti-party activities.

“This level of injustice is enough to trigger rebellion within the party. People are keeping quiet because they want food on their tables, but the anger is there,” he said.

The former APC publicity secretary maintained that no political party is free from crisis, but insisted that the APC’s internal contradictions would soon explode.

Recalling his role in the formation of the party, Vatsa further explained that founding members had been sidelined by “tenants” who took over the structure after the APC came to power.

“We pushed the broken-down vehicle called APC into motion in 2015, but today those who joined later are occupying the house. I am one of the landlords and I cannot abandon my house for tenants,” he added.

The Nasarawa State chapter of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, has rejected the outcome of the Nasarawa North Senatorial District by-election, calling on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to cancel the exercise over alleged electoral irregularities.

In a statement issued on Sunday by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Danjuma Joseph, the NDC alleged that its logo was omitted from official election materials despite being a duly registered political party participating in the poll.

The party claimed that while a logo appeared on the ballot paper, it did not belong to the NDC, a development it said may have confused voters and negatively affected its performance in the election.

According to the statement, the party also observed that its logo was absent from the result sheets used during the election, while there was reportedly no provision for NDC agents to append their signatures at ward, local government and state collation levels.

“The logo printed on the ballot paper does not belong to our party, the NDC. This, we believe, is a deliberate attempt by INEC to mislead our supporters and undermine our participation,” the party alleged.

They further claimed that the logo used during the Nasarawa by-election differed from the party’s official symbol reportedly used by INEC in another by-election conducted in Enugu State on the same day.

Beyond concerns over party identification, the NDC alleged that several polling units experienced malfunctioning Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices, a situation it said undermined the credibility of the electoral process.

The party also alleged incidents of result manipulation and mutilation in favour of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), though it did not provide specific evidence to support the claim.

Citing the alleged irregularities, the NDC declared that it does not recognise the outcome of the election and would explore legal avenues to challenge the process.

“Given these irregularities, the NDC rejects the conduct of the by-election in Nasarawa North and will pursue legal options to protect our democratic rights and the will of our supporters,” the statement added.

The by-election was conducted to fill the vacant Nasarawa North Senatorial seat following the death of the district’s former representative, Senator Godiya Akwashiki.

INEC has yet to respond to the allegations raised by the NDC as of the time of filing this report.