As the countdown to the submission of the list of candidates for 2027 poll approaches, the All Progressives Congress (APC) is taking a second look at candidates that have been nominated in some key states to be sure that they are popular with voters.
The move is informed by the need to quickly resolve the crises that have trailed the primaries in the states, particularly Kwara, Nasarawa, Taraba, Adamawa, Benue , Rivers and Bauchi, reports The Nation.
While incumbent governors eligible for second term have all been nominated except Rivers governor Siminalayi Fubara, there is revolt in Taraba over the return bid of Governor Agbo Kefas and in Benue over Governor Hyacinth Alia.
In the other states where candidates backed by incumbent governors won the primaries, the losers are aggrieved, alleging manipulation and other underhand tactics. They are threatening to work against the winners in the elections next year.
Sources said the National Leader of the party , President Bola Tinubu is not only monitoring the situation but determined to resolve the crises.
Taking a cue from the president, national officers of the party have waded into the crises with a bid to resolving them well before the elections.
It was learnt that they are worried that some strong and popular candidates have been relegated by some governors in the Senate and House of Representatives races and this they believe is at a great risk to APC.
They are proposing a win-win formula in the interest of the party.
Following pressure, APC leaders have relocated temporarily to a private office in Abuja for a state by state analysis of the crises.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio is also determined to resolve the crises. He has met with the President on the issue and is said to be highly optimistic that the crises will be over soon.
According to the time table released by the Independent Electoral Commission( INEC), online nomination portal for the Presidential and National Assembly Elections will open on June 27th, 2026 till July 11th, 2026.
The portal for Governorship and State Assembly elections runs from July 18 to August 8, 2026.
The INEC brief reads: “Submission of form EC9, EC9A, 9B, 9C, 9D and 9E online nomination portal: Presidential and National Assembly: 9.00am June 27 to 6pm July 11, 2026.
“The publication of personal particulars of candidates (form Ec9); Presidential and National Assembly( August 1); Governorship and state Assembly Elections August 29
“Last day for withdrawal of candidates: Presidential and National Assembly Elections (August 22); Governorship and State House of Assembly Elections( September 19)
“Last day for submission of nomination form (EC13A, 13 B, 13C, 13 D and 13 E) by political parties: Presidential and National Assembly Elections- August 29; and Governorship and State House of Assembly Elections – Sept 26
“Publication of final list of candidates- Presidential and National Assembly Elections -Sept 12; Governors and State House of Assembly Elections -Oct.10.”
Bauchi
Until the recent primaries,the odds seemed to be in favour of the immediate past Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar to emerge as the party’s governorship candidate in Bauchi State. But by the time voting was over,he had lost to Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar ,the state governor between 2015 and 2019.Abubakar polled 57,517 votes to Tuggar’s 26,001.
Some party actors are displeased by the outcome of the primaries and claim that Abubakar is not as popular as being projected .They cite his loss in 2019 to the incumbent Bala Mohammed as an indication of his disconnect from the grassroots.
Benue
Governor Hyacinth Alia and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF),Senator George Akume remain locked in a struggle for the control of the nomination of candidates from the state despite the intervention of President Bola Tinubu.
The president had met with the duo and encouraged them to work together.
The terms of the reconciliation, according to sources, include:Alia to return as governorship candidate and incumbent federal lawmakers (senators and Reps) to be allowed to return.
However, the governor ended up giving only Akume’s wife a return ticket to the House of Representatives and senatorial tickets to former governor Gabriel Suswam and a current member of the HoR,Francis Agbo while his (Alia’s) supporters dominate on the list of candidates for the State House of Assembly.
Akume’s supporters are aggrieved by the situation and are threatening to work against the governor in the election.
But both sides are rooting for Tinubu’s reelection.
Rivers
The party is critically studying the recent Court of Appeal’s ruling on the leadership of the party in the state. The Emeka Beke-led faction of the party in the state claims that the court invalidated decisions taken by the Tony Okocha-led exco. But the APC is disputing the claims, saying the ruling was limited to issues surrounding the party’s congresses and has no bearing on the primaries which produced Kingsley Chinda as winner. It insists that the court did not order Beke’s return and that it only said the matter should return to the High Court for a fresh trial.
The APC does not think Chinda’s candidacy is an issue for now.
Kwara
The tension generated by the governorship primaries seems to be over although same cannot be said about the senatorial and House of Representatives tickets. Questions are still asked about the fate of Senator Sadiq Suleiman Umar (Kwara North) who showed interest in the governorship race and his Kwara South counterpart Lola Ashiru.A petition has been filed about alleged irregularities in the House of Representatives primary in Ifelodun/Offa/Oyun.
With INEC’s timetable in mind, some governors, candidates and aggrieved aspirants have turned Abuja into a second home.
The governors have been trying to retain the outcome of the primaries in their states, the aggrieved aspirants are trying to convince the Appeal Committee and the APC leadership to save them.
A top source in the party said: “We are overwhelmed with petitions virtually in our 31 states. The relevant committee is looking into all complaints.
“Again, our governors, members of the National Assembly, aggrieved aspirants, and party leaders have been piling pressure on members of the National Working Committee (NWC) because every ticket belongs to the APC.
“The challenge at hand is beyond the NWC, we may have to consult the National Leader of APC, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the candidates that can win 2027 elections.
“We are weighing options on some of our states with serious issues because it is not about winning primaries, it is about the electoral battles ahead against other parties. We don’t want to present weak candidates. “
Sources named Kwara, Nasarawa, Rivers, Adamawa, and Bauchi as vulnerable states.
One source said : “We have not been able to resolve the challenge in Kwara State where the governor has secured a ticket for his anointed APC leader to succeed him. But he has clung to the senatorial slot for Kwara Central Senatorial District by holding on to a pre-governorship primaries mediation that Sen. Saliu Mustapha won’t seek re-election. But it was on condition that the influential Sen. Mustapha would get the governorship ticket.
“With the present scenario, Mustapha has neither governorship ticket nor a return slot to the Senate. That is a gamble for APC. There may be protest votes against the governor in Kwara Central District for moving against Mustapha.
“The fate of the Senate Deputy Majority Leader, Sen. Lola Ashiru is yet to be determined because of a concession secured for principal officers of the National Assembly. Again, the state governor is opposed to his candidacy.
“For Sen. Umar Sadiq (Kwara North), his fate is still unknown until the nomination of APC candidates is unveiled. “
In Nasarawa State, the source said: “There is a graveyard silence because some embittered aspirants are poised for proxy battles because Governor Abdullahi Sule is not making concessions to them.
“They are poised for legal battle against the anointed governorship candidate, Sen. Aliyu Wadada for defecting from Social Democratic Party to APC after emerging as APC’s choice. He did it on the floor of the Senate.
“There should be a way of accommodating dissenting voices in the state or else, technically, APC may lose out.”
“There is a similar case in Rivers State where the APC governorship candidate, Hon. Kingsley Chinda resigned from PDP after becoming the governorship candidate of APC. His was a glaring defection in the House of Representatives.
“The court’s judgement on the status of the state executives of APC is a major challenge requiring wisdom to resolve. “
According to the source, the “National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu has succeeded in stabilising APC in Adamawa State with a win-win formula between him and Governor Ahmadu Fintiri.
“Some stakeholders have questioned the emergence of former APC National Vice
Chairman for the Northeast, Mustapha Salihu, against a long -term and leading aspirant for the senatorial ticket, Alhaji Aliyu Abdulhameed for Adamawa Central Senatorial District.
“Although Abdulhameed has accepted the decision of the party, voters in the district are often rebellious and may opt for another party.
“The same Mustapha was humiliated in Gombe at a North-East Zonal meeting of APC for opposing the retention of Vice President Kashim Shettima for 2027 poll.”
But more than any state, the tension in Benue State APC between the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume and Governor Hyacinth Alia is a nightmare for the party.
Findings revealed that in spite of the breach of peace agreement by Governor Alia on primaries, the President may stamp his feet to favour Akume.
“We know who is in charge of APC in Benue State, we cannot afford to lose the state.
“The president has more than a passing interest in Benue. The party will field the right candidates irrespective of the outcome of the primaries.
“Our position is that no winner takes it all,” a highly-placed APC chieftain said.
It has been tough for the APC in Bauchi since the emergence of Mohammed Abubakar as the governorship candidate.
In Taraba State, Governor Agbu Kefas is the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) after defeating former Minister of State for Transport, Muazu Jaji, in the party’s primary election.
Things have fallen apart afterwards with a gale of defection of heavyweights from APC to other parties.
“APC, no doubt is bleeding in Taraba State,” a source said.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio said earlier in the week that the delayed release of the official results of the APC primary has constituted heartache for senators.
Speaking at the inauguration of the APC National Campaign Council for next week’s Ekiti State Governorship Election, Akpabio said senators were getting hypertensive over the delay in release of the list.
He appealed to the APC National Working Committee (NWC) to carry sitting federal lawmakers along when finalising the list to be submitted to INEC.
“Some of my people (Senators) are having hypertension. So, they are really coming down with hypertension,” the Senate President, who co-chairs the campaign council, said.
“I am pleading with the party that when they bring out their final list, they need to show that they are carrying all of us along,” he added.
