Candidates of the Action Alliance and Labour Party have rejected the results of the Rivers South-East senatorial district by-election, declaring the outcome a sham and vowing to challenge it through every legal channel available to them.
The rejection came hours after the Independent National Electoral Commission announced a winner in the keenly contested by-election, which had already been marred by allegations of violence, voter suppression, and ballot irregularities before a single result sheet was read out.
The AA candidate, speaking through his legal team, described the process as a charade from start to finish. He alleged that thugs disrupted voting in several polling units across the senatorial district and that results were manipulated before they reached the collation center.
In a similar tone, the LP candidate said the election was stolen in broad daylight and that INEC officials on the ground either looked away or actively participated in the fraud. Both candidates said they have documentary evidence to back their claims and are ready to file a petition before the appropriate election tribunal without delay.
Now, this is not the first time Rivers State has been at the center of a bitter election dispute. The state has a long and turbulent history of contested polls, and the Rivers South-East by-election appears set to add another chapter to that story.
The by-election became necessary to fill the seat vacated after the death of the incumbent senator, Barinada Mpigi, who represented Rivers South-East Senatorial District in the Senate. He died on 19 February 2026 at the age of 64 while serving as a senator.
Political parties had mobilized heavily for the contest, and the build-up was tense, with security agencies deploying personnel across the district in anticipation of trouble.
Reports from party agents on the ground indicated that voting materials arrived late in some areas, while in others, accreditation was disrupted entirely. The AA and LP candidates both said their agents were chased away from collation centers before figures were announced.
INEC has not yet issued a formal response to the rejection or the specific allegations raised by both parties. The commission’s spokesperson did not return calls as of the time this report was filed. The agency had earlier assured voters that the election would be free, fair, and credible.
The declared winner, whose party affiliation places him in the camp of the dominant political bloc in Rivers State, has urged his opponents to accept the result and approach the tribunal if they have grievances. His spokesperson said the victory was won fairly and reflects the will of the people of the senatorial district.
But the AA and LP camps do not agree. Both parties are now in talks with their national leaderships about the next steps, and sources within both camps say a joint press conference may be held in the coming days to formally present evidence of the alleged malpractice.
Civil society groups monitoring the by-election have also raised concerns. A coalition of election observers noted irregularities in multiple local government areas within the senatorial district, though the group stopped short of calling for an outright cancellation and said it is compiling a detailed report.
The Rivers South-East by-election result now heads into what promises to be a bruising legal battle. With both the AA and LP candidates publicly committed to the tribunal process, the declared winner may find his victory celebrated in one hall and challenged in another.
For voters in the senatorial district who came out to cast their ballots despite the tension, the fight has just moved from the polling booth to the courtroom. And in Rivers State, that fight rarely ends quickly.
