Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
BORI, Nigeria – The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Senator Olaka Nwogu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the Rivers South-East Senatorial District by-election, securing a sweeping victory across all seven local government areas of the district. Nwogu, a former member of the House of Representatives and a key ally of Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike, polled 47,961 votes to defeat three other candidates in the keenly contested election held on Saturday, June 20, 2026.
Announcing the final results on Sunday, June 21, at the Rivers South-East Senatorial Collation Centre at the Khana Local Government Council Secretariat in Bori, the Returning Officer, Professor Rosemary Ogu of the University of Port Harcourt, declared Nwogu the winner. "Nwogu Olaka Johnson of the PDP, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected," she stated. The PDP candidate defeated his closest rival, Osarokaka Ebenezer Erewari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 1,647 votes. Douglas Fabeke of the Action Alliance (AA) garnered 1,175 votes, while Sam Kinani of the Labour Party (LP) secured 367 votes.
The by-election was conducted to fill the vacancy created by the death of Senator Barry Barinada Mpigi, who passed away in February 2026. The poll covered seven local government areas that make up the senatorial district: Khana, Gokana, Tai, Eleme, Andoni, Oyigbo, and Opobo. Despite early morning heavy rainfall that lasted several hours across the district, voters turned out in large numbers. INEC extended voting by one hour following disruptions caused by the downpour.
All four participating political parties – the PDP, APC, AA and LP – are part of what has become known in Rivers political circles as Wike’s “Rainbow Coalition,” a broad alliance of political interests believed to be working in concert in the state. Sources within the coalition had earlier indicated that the alliance collectively settled on Nwogu as its preferred candidate ahead of the election, a development that significantly shaped the dynamics of the contest and contributed to his overwhelming performance at the polls. Nwogu's emergence is expected to further strengthen the influence of the Wike-backed political bloc in Rivers State.
However, the electoral process was not without its hitches. INEC's Head of Department for Voter Education in Rivers State, Geraldine Ekelemo, acknowledged technical glitches with the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) at some polling units. She disclosed that the Commission had deployed backup BVAS machines to all seven local government areas ahead of the election, with technical staff on ground to quickly reconfigure replacement devices wherever the primary machines malfunctioned. “INEC was proactive in ensuring that backup BVAS were supplied and distributed to each of these LGAs,” she said.
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