The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Bright Ngene of the Labour Party as the winner of the Enugu South 1 State Constituency rerun election, despite the politician currently serving a seven-year jail sentence.
The announcement, made on Tuesday in a statement signed by Sam Olumekun, INEC’s National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, brings to an end years of failed attempts to conduct the court-ordered rerun.
Ngene, however, remains in custody at Enugu prison following his conviction in July 2024 by Magistrate E. D. Onwu over a protracted communal crisis tied to a disputed N15 million community development fund. He was originally arraigned in 2017 alongside two others, but the case lingered for years and was briefly referred to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) before being revived after his 2023 election victory.
The rerun itself had been plagued by multiple disruptions, with four earlier attempts collapsing due to violence, thuggery, and logistical failures, including missing election materials. The most recent setback occurred on August 16, when polling officials failed to present sensitive documents such as result sheets, sparking clashes among party supporters.
Despite the setbacks, INEC confirmed that Ngene secured victory in the concluded rerun, defeating his closest rival, Sam Ngene of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), by more than 3,000 votes.
In the same exercise, INEC also declared Ya’u Garba Gwarmai of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the Ghari/Tsanyawa State Constituency rerun in Kano State.
The commission announced that Certificates of Return will be issued to all successful candidates on August 21 and 22, 2025. National Assembly members-elect will receive theirs at INEC headquarters in Abuja, while State Assembly winners will be presented with theirs by Resident Electoral Commissioners in respective state offices.
INEC listed additional constituencies across Adamawa, Anambra, Kaduna, Kano, Kogi, Niger, Ogun, Oyo, and Taraba where winners of rerun elections will also receive their certificates this week.
