2027: APC Slams Door on ‘Defeated Aspirants’, Prepares Final Candidate List for INEC

...Okowa, Chinda make final list amid protests

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has locked in its candidate lineup for the 2027 general elections, firmly rejecting calls to revisit the fallout from its highly contentious primary elections.

Despite a wave of protests and formal complaints from disgruntled politicians nationwide, the ruling party is moving forward with its original choices.

Insiders within the APC’s national secretariat reveal that leadership has wrapped up its review of the primary outcomes.

The party is now putting the finishing touches on the data, preparing to upload the official roster to the Independent Electoral National Commission (INEC) portal.

This decisive move effectively dampens any hopes of fresh primaries or internal arbitration for aspirants who claim they were shortchanged by party heavyweights.

Advertisement

According to top-tier party sources and members of the National Working Committee (NWC), the verdict is final.

“The window for adjustments and appeals has officially slammed shut,” a senior party official stated under anonymity.

“We are simply waiting for INEC to grant us portal access to upload the successful candidates. The process is over, and whispers of a looming review are entirely baseless.”

The clock is ticking for all political platforms, as INEC has scheduled June 26 for the release of its nomination portal access codes, with July 11 set as the hard deadline for submitting candidate credentials.

Frivolous Petitions and Fallen Lawmakers

The internal friction follows a bruising primary season between May 16 and 18, which saw at least 54 sitting federal lawmakers—including high-ranking senators and representatives—fail to secure their return tickets. The losses triggered a cascade of petitions and legal threats, particularly from battlegrounds like Lagos, Delta, Zamfara, Kogi, Rivers, Plateau, and Osun states.

Advertisement

However, party chieftains have dismissed the bulk of these protests. A high-ranking source noted that appeal panels found nearly all complaints to be “frivolous,” with fewer than two percent of the petitions yielding any changes.

“Many of these grievances centered on pre-primary issues like zoning or residency, which aren’t valid grounds for overturning an election,” the source explained.

“With thousands of seats contested across the country, the vast majority of constituencies had zero issues. The final list will mirror what is already public knowledge.”

High-Profile Legal Skirmishes

Among the most notable disputes is in Delta North, where incumbent Senator Ned Nwoko is fighting the victory of former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa. Nwoko argues that Okowa’s victory is invalid because he failed to formally resign from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before crossing over to the APC alongside Governor Sheriff Oborevwori in late April.

A similar drama is unfolding in Rivers State, where some aspirants are protesting the emergence of House of Representatives Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, as the governorship flagbearer.

Advertisement

Dismissing these technical challenges, an APC official asserted that party membership is strictly an internal affair.

“If a candidate is on our register, they are a member. Period. They don’t need a public declaration of the day they jumped ship. When Bukola Saraki left the APC years ago, did he step down as Senate President first? The party decides its own rules.”

Presidency Maintains Arms-Length Stance

Contrary to rumours flying within political circles, the NWC has confirmed that President Bola Tinubu has not stepped in to mediate the post-primary friction.

Sources indicate that if the President intended to protect specific interests, he would have done so before the ballots were cast.

Currently, neither the Presidency nor its emissaries have requested a review of the results, leaving primary winners in key states like Lagos completely secure.

Advertisement

While the party’s National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, and National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, both declined to comment on what they termed “internal party affairs,” aggrieved party members are still holding out hope for a presidential intervention.

One anonymous aspirant from Lagos claimed that a powerful internal clique is intentionally keeping the President in the dark about the true level of discontent.

“They are trying to ambush him,” the aspirant alleged. But the President is known for doing his own groundwork. I am confident that once he gets the real picture, he will step in.”

Meanwhile, other party faithful have warned that ignoring the internal rift could backfire spectacularly in 2027.

“Protests at the secretariat are bad for a party already dealing with a tense national climate,” another source warned.

“The real danger isn’t just people quitting the party—it’s the disgruntled members who will stay inside and quietly sabotage us on election day.”

Advertisement