‘How Market?’, Presidency Mocks Opposition Over By-election Outcomes

The Presidency has taken a swipe at the opposition coalition led by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and former Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, following their poor outing in Saturday’s by-elections across the country.

Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, in a cryptic post on his X handle on Monday, mocked the coalition after the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) showed the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winning the majority seats.

“How is the market now?” Onanuga wrote, in a thinly-veiled jab at the coalition which had styled itself as a formidable political force ahead of the polls.

According to the official results, the APC won 12 of the 16 constituencies contested in the by-elections across 12 states. The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) secured two seats, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) won one seat each.

The outcome dealt a setback to the bloc of opposition leaders who had publicly announced their resolve to work together against the ruling party ahead of future elections.