The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday concluded senatorial primary elections in several states ahead of the 2027 general election, with serving governors, former governors, and incumbent lawmakers dominating the contests.
Seven serving governors emerged as senatorial candidates of
the ruling party during the exercise.
They are Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa, Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe,
Hope Uzodimma of Imo, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun, Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa,
Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara, and Mai Mala Buni of Yobe.
Apart from the serving governors, 12 former governors also secured APC senatorial tickets during the primaries.
They are Godswill Akpabio, Senate president and former governor of Akwa Ibom state; Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia); Adams Oshiomhole (Edo); Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta); Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto); Gabriel Suswam (Benue); Ramalan Yero (Kaduna); Yahaya Bello (Kogi); Adamu Aliero (Kebbi), Simon Lalong (Plateau), Ibrahim Shekarau (Kano), and Sani Bello (Niger).
The primaries also produced victories for several
high-ranking federal lawmakers and party leaders.
Akpabio retained the APC ticket for Akwa Ibom
north-west senatorial district, while Jibrin Barau, deputy senate
president, secured the ticket for Kano north.
Opeyemi Bamidele, Senate leader, retained the APC ticket for
Ekiti Central, while Yemi Adaramodu, Senate spokesperson, won the Ekiti South
primary.
However, Lola Ashiru, deputy senate leader, lost
the APC senatorial ticket for Kwara South to Muheebah Dankaka, former
chairperson of the Federal Character Commission (FCC).
SERVING SENATORS DOMINATE APC TICKETS
So far, 51 serving senators have secured APC tickets to seek
re-election in 2027.
However, 14 serving senators were defeated during the
primaries across different states.
Among those defeated were Ashiru, Pam Dachungyang in Plateau
north, Eteng Williams in Cross River central, Osita Izunaso in Imo west, Ned
Nwoko in Delta north, Olubiyi Fadeyi in Osun central, and Samaila Kaila in
Bauchi north.
Others are Diket Plang in Plateau central, Adeniyi
Adegbonmire in Ondo central, Peter Jiya in Niger south, Titus Zam in Benue
north-west, Lola Ashiru in Kwara south, Olajide Ipinsagba in Ondo north and
Emmanuel Udende in Benue north-east.
Some serving senators either stepped down from the race,
were disqualified, or declined to seek re-election.
Musa Mustapha stepped down for Buni in Yobe east, while Amos
Yohanna withdrew for Fintiri in Adamawa north. Ezenwa Onyewuchi of Imo east is
contesting the governorship primaries.
In Rivers west, Ipalibo Banigo, former deputy governor of
the state, was disqualified from the primary but vowed to appeal
the decision.
Nasiru Zangon did not seek re-election in Katsina north,
while Sharafadeen Alli and Salihu Mustapha from Oyo south and Kwara central
respectively opted to pursue governorship ambitions.
In Ogun west, Solomon Adeola emerged as the APC consensus governorship
candidate instead of seeking another senate term. Aliyu Wadada of Nasarawa west
also emerged as the APC consensus governorship candidate in his state.
The primaries also highlighted defections and political
realignments within the APC.
In Edo south, Ogbeide-Ihama Omoregie defeated Neda Imaseun,
who defected from the Labour Party to the APC in July 2025.
Ibrahim Baba defeated Kaila in Bauchi north after the
senator defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC in 2025.
In Niger south, Idris Kutigi defeated Jiya, who moved from the PDP to the APC in March. Pam
Dachungyang, who moved from the Action Democratic Party (ADP) to the APC in
January 2026, was defeated by Simon Mwadkwon, his predecessor.
However, Benson Friday Konbowei, senator representing
Bayelsa central, who defected from the PDP to the APC in October 2025, secured
the party’s ticket.
Some contests were also shaped by withdrawals and unresolved
disputes.
In Ogun east, Abiodun emerged after Gbenga Daniel, former
governor of the state, withdrew from the race days before the primary.
In Kogi east, Joseph Erico emerged as a candidate after defeating Jibrin Isah, although the senator
insisted that no election was held.
In Kebbi south, Jafar Gajere emerged as the APC candidate
after Garba Maidoki resigned from the party four days before the primaries.
INCUMBENTS RETAIN DOMINANCE
The primaries also reinforced the dominance of incumbents in
several states.
In Lagos, all three incumbent senators retained their
tickets, including Wasiu Eshinlokun in Lagos central, Idiat Adebule in Lagos
west, and Tokunbo Abiru in Lagos east.
Adebule, Ngozi Kene-Chiedu and Muheebah Dankaka are the
three female senatorial candidates produced by the APC in the primaries
concluded so far.
In Borno, all incumbent senators retained their tickets,
including Kaka Shehu (central), Ali Ndume (south) and Tahir Monguno (north).
In short, APC returned incumbent senators in Enugu, Borno,
Zamfara, Katsina, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Lagos, Ekiti and parts of Yobe, Osun, Edo,
Delta and Oyo.
In Delta north, Okowa defeated Nwoko to clinch the APC
ticket, while Ede Dafinone and Joel-Onowakpo Thomas retained their tickets.
In Benue north-east, Suswam defeated Udende, while Dave
Padopads-Awunah unseated Zam in Benue north-west.
The APC has yet to conclude senatorial primaries in several
districts across the country.
States where primaries have either not been held or remain
inconclusive include Bauchi, Adamawa, Kogi, Oyo, and Taraba.
FULL LIST OF APC SENATORIAL CANDIDATES SO FAR
ABIA
- Orji
Uzor Kalu — Abia north
- Erondu
Uchenna Erondu Jr — Abia south
- Emeka
Atuma — Abia central
ADAMAWA
- Umaru
Fintiri — Adamawa north
- Felix
Tangwami — Adamawa south
AKWA IBOM
- Godswill
Akpabio — Akwa Ibom north-west
- Aniekan
Bassey — Akwa Ibom north-east
- Ekong
Sampson — Akwa Ibom south
ANAMBRA
- Nelson
Onubuogu — Anambra north
- Kene
Chiedu Ngozi Benedicta — Anambra central
- Chibuogu
Oraelusi — Anambra south
BAUCHI
- Yakubu
Abdullahi — Bauchi south
- Ibrahim
Baba — Bauchi north
BAYELSA
- Fidelis
Agbiki — Bayelsa west
- Friday
Kombowei Benson — Bayelsa central
- Israel
Sunny-Goli — Bayelsa east
BENUE
- Dave
Padopads-Awunah — Benue north-west
- Gabriel
Suswam — Benue north-east
- Francis
Agbo — Benue south
BORNO
- Kaka
Shehu — Borno central
- Ali
Ndume — Borno south
- Tahir
Monguno — Borno north
CROSS RIVER
- Jarigbe
Jarigbe — Cross River north
- Oden
Ewa — Cross River central
- Asuquo
Ekpenyong — Cross River south
DELTA
- Ede
Dafinone — Delta central
- Ifeanyi
Okowa — Delta north
- Joel-Onowakpo
Thomas — Delta south
EDO
- Adams
Oshiomhole — Edo north
- Joseph
Ikpea — Edo central
- Ogbeide-Ihama
Omoregie — Edo south
EKITI
- Opeyemi
Bamidele — Ekiti central
- Cyril
Fasuyi — Ekiti north
- Yemi
Adaramodu — Ekiti south
ENUGU
- Osita
Ngwu — Enugu west
- Kelvin
Chukwu — Enugu east
- Ikeje
Asogwa — Enugu north
GOMBE
- Inuwa
Yahaya — Gombe north
- Mohammed
Ahmed — Gombe central
- Jerry
Damara — Gombe south
IMO
- Alex
Mbata — Imo east
- Hope
Uzodimma — Imo west
- Patrick
Ndubueze — Imo north
JIGAWA
- Babangida
Hussain — Jigawa north-west
- Ahmed
Malam Madori — Jigawa north-east
- Sani
Garba — Jigawa south-west
KADUNA
- Ramalan
Yero — Kaduna north
- Shehu
Sani — Kaduna central
- Sunday
Katung — Kaduna south
KANO
- Jibrin
Barau — Kano north
- Ibrahim
Shekarau — Kano central
- Abdulrahman
Kawu — Kano south
KATSINA
- Mutari
Dandutse — Katsina south
- Nasir
Daura — Katsina north
- Abdulaziz
Yar’Adua — Katsina central
KEBBI
- Adamu
Aliero — Kebbi central
- Yahaya
Abdullahi — Kebbi north
- Jafar
Gajere — Kebbi south
KOGI
- Joseph
Erico — Kogi east
- Yahaya
Bello — Kogi central
KWARA
- Abdulrahman
Abdulrazaq — Kwara central
- Sadiq
Umar — Kwara north
- Muheebah
Dankaka — Kwara south
LAGOS
- Wasiu
Eshinlokun — Lagos central
- Idiat
Adebule — Lagos west
- Tokunbo
Abiru — Lagos east
NASARAWA
- Abdullahi
Sule — Nasarawa north
- Faisal
Shuaib — Nasarawa west
NIGER
- Idris
Kutigi — Niger south
- Sani
Musa — Niger east
- Sani
Bello — Niger north
OGUN
- Dapo
Abiodun — Ogun east
- Jimoh
Ojugbele — Ogun west
- Shuaib
Salisu — Ogun central
ONDO
- Gbenga
Elegbeleye — Ondo north
- Taiwo
Fasoranti — Ondo central
- Isaacs
Kekemeke — Ondo south
OSUN
- Francis
Fadahunsi — Osun east
- Adekunle
Adeogoke — Osun central
- Akintunde
Oyebiyi — Osun west
OYO
- Remi
Oseni — Oyo south
- Yunus
Akintunde — Oyo central
PLATEAU
- David
Barji — Plateau central
- Simon
Lalong — Plateau south
- Simon
Mwadkwon — Plateau north
RIVERS
- Felix
Obuah — Rivers west
- Allwell
Onyesoh — Rivers east
- Barry
Mwara — Rivers south-east
SOKOTO
- Aliyu
Wamakko — Sokoto central
- Umaru
Ajiya — Sokoto east
- Ibrahim
Danbaba — Sokoto south
TARABA
- Manu
Haruna — Taraba central
- David
Jimkuta — Taraba south
YOBE
- Mai
Mala Buni — Yobe east
- Ahmad
Ibrahim Lawan — Yobe north
- Ibrahim
Bomai — Yobe south
ZAMFARA
- Abdulaziz
Yari — Zamfara west
- Ikra
Bilbis — Zamfara central
- Sahabi
Ya’u — Zamfara north
FCT
- Philip
Aduda — Federal Capital Territory (FCT)
Senatorial districts not listed are either pending,
inconclusive, or yet to conduct APC primaries due to internal disputes, zoning
disagreements, logistical challenges and postponements.
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