By Nathaniel Zacchaeus, Abuja
Some of the most influential figures in the National Assembly on Monday tightened their hold on the political structures of the All Progressives Congress (APC) after sweeping through the party’s senatorial primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections.
President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio; Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin; Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele; and former Senate Chief Whip, Orji Uzor Kalu, all secured APC tickets in exercises marked by overwhelming support from party faithful and strong endorsements from stakeholders.
The development is being seen as a major boost for the ruling party’s preparations for the next electoral cycle, with the emergence of the four senators reinforcing the dominance of the APC’s established power bloc across key regions of the country.
In Akwa Ibom State, supporters and APC members trooped out in large numbers to affirm Akpabio as the party’s candidate for Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District.
The Senate President, who was the sole aspirant for the ticket, participated in the primary election held at Methodist School Ukana in Essien Udim Local Government Area.
The venue wore a festive atmosphere as supporters sang and danced in celebration of Akpabio’s return as the APC standard bearer.
Party members described the exercise as peaceful and orderly, while officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), civil society groups and other stakeholders monitored the process.
The Returning Officer, Gabriel Ekong, commended party members for conducting themselves peacefully throughout the exercise.
Supporters of the Senate President said the large turnout reflected appreciation for his years of public service, spanning his tenure as commissioner, governor, minister, and, currently, as Senate President.
Addressing supporters after the exercise, Akpabio thanked party members for their confidence in him and pledged to continue providing quality representation in the National Assembly.
He also reaffirmed his commitment to strengthening the APC and supporting President Bola Tinubu’s policies.
Akpabio urged the electorate to support Tinubu, Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno and all APC candidates in the 2027 elections, promising to continue attracting development projects to the district.
In Kano State, Deputy Senate President Barau emerged as the APC candidate for Kano North Senatorial District after receiving unanimous affirmation from party members at the APC headquarters in Bichi Local Government Area.
Thousands of APC supporters from the 13 local government areas that make up the district attended the exercise, which INEC officials and party leaders monitored.
Chairman of the APC Electoral Committee for the Kano North Senatorial Primary Election, Shehu Isa Direba, asked party members to affirm Barau as the candidate, a request that was met with a resounding endorsement from the crowd.
The Chairman of the APC National Assembly Primary Elections Committee for Kano State, Musa Yahaya, also sought the backing of party members, who unanimously affirmed the Deputy Senate President.
Leader of the INEC monitoring team, Abdulrahman Haruna, later expressed satisfaction with the peaceful conduct of the process.
Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, represented by his deputy, Murtala Sule Garo, praised the orderly conduct of the primary and predicted victory for APC candidates in the state during the general election.
“We are one family in APC. Insha Allah, Senator Barau, President Tinubu and all APC candidates will emerge victorious,” he said.
Responding, Barau thanked party members for their support and commended President Tinubu for what he described as effective leadership of the country.
He also praised Governor Yusuf for his efforts at repositioning Kano State and urged voters to support all APC candidates in 2027.
“President Tinubu means well for Northern Nigeria and is doing extremely well for us. We should not be distracted by unnecessary criticisms,” Barau stated.
In Ekiti, the leader of the Senate, Opeyemi Bamidele, emerged as the unopposed senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress for Ekiti Central ahead of the 2027 general election, further cementing his dominance within the party’s structure in the state.
Bamidele’s emergence was confirmed on Monday after the APC released the list of screened senatorial aspirants for Ekiti State through the office of the party’s National Organising Secretary, Sulaiman Arugungu.
The Senate Leader was the only aspirant cleared for the Ekiti Central Senatorial District race, effectively handing him the party’s ticket for a third consecutive term in the Senate.
Other aspirants cleared by the APC include the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Adeyemi Adaramodu; former Senate Minority Leader, Biodun Olujimi; and Hon. Bamidele Faparusi for Ekiti South Senatorial District.
For Ekiti North, the party cleared the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service, Cyril Fasuyi; former senator Ayo Arise; Mr Oladipupo Bamisaye; and Chief Oluwadare Owolabi.
Bamidele first secured the APC senatorial ticket for Ekiti Central in 2019, defeating then-incumbent senator, Mrs Fatimat Raji-Rasaki, in a keenly contested primary election.
He was again returned unopposed in 2023 amid growing support within the district over his legislative record, constituency projects and influence in the National Assembly.
For Lagos, the Chairman of the 2026 APC National Assembly Primary Election Committee, Mr Saleh Yipmong, has applauded members for peaceful affirmations of the three Lagos senators as party consensus candidates for 2027.
The sole candidate in each of the Senatorial Districts– Sen. Idiat Adebule (Lagos West), Sen. Wasiu Sanni-Eshinlokun (Lagos Central and Tokunbo Abiru (Lagos East) were affirmed during the party’s Senate primaries.
In Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu recorded a landslide victory in the APC direct primary election for the Abia North Senatorial District.
Kalu polled 65,651 votes to defeat his lone challenger, Philip Nto, who scored 2,103 votes, giving the former governor a victory margin of 63,548 votes.
The primary election was conducted across the 57 wards in the district and witnessed massive participation by party members.
Announcing the result in Umuahia, Chairman of the Abia North Senatorial National Assembly Primary Election Committee, Chinedu Christian Kanu, described the exercise as peaceful, transparent and credible.
Kalu’s victory further strengthened his re-election bid ahead of the 2027 National Assembly polls and reaffirmed his influence within the APC in the South-East.
In Delta, former governor Senator Ifeanyi Okowa secured the APC senatorial ticket for Delta North ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Okowa defeated incumbent senator Sen. Ned Nwoko and Dr Maryam Ali during the party’s primary election conducted across the district’s nine local government areas.
Announcing the results, the APC Returning Officer, Prof. Johnbull Tonukari, declared Okowa the winner after polling 113,309 votes in the exercise.
Tonukari said Nwoko secured 2,612 votes, while Ali polled 40 votes in the primary election, which was conducted peacefully across the senatorial district.
He said three aspirants contested the ticket, namely Okowa, Nwoko and Ali, with delegates voting across the nine councils in Delta North.
According to him, Okowa dominated the contest from the opening stages and maintained substantial leads across nearly all the local government areas announced.
Former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, won the APC senatorial primary for Kogi Central.
The direct primary election was conducted across the five local government areas that make up the Kogi Central senatorial district.
The Returning Officer, Dr Sadiq Mohammed, announced the results at the collation centre in Okene, describing the exercise as orderly and credible.
Mohammed said Bello polled 72,399 votes, defeating Ibrahim Adoke, who scored 319 votes, and Momoh Yusuf Obaro, with 188 votes.
Also in Imo, Hope Uzodimma emerged as the candidate of the APC Imo West Senatorial District after polling 230,464 votes.
Retired Rear Adm. Williams Kayoda, the Chairman and Returning Officer of the 2026 Imo APC National Assembly Primary Election Committee, declared the result at Orlu Local Government Area headquarters.
Kayoda said Uzodimma defeated former governor of the state, Sen. Rochas Okorocha, who garnered 1,098 votes at the party primary election held across 12 local government areas of the senatorial zone.
In Kaduna, former governor Alhaji Mukhtar Yero emerged the winner of the party’s primary election for the Kaduna North Senatorial District, while Senator Shehu Sani won the primary election for the Kaduna Central Senatorial District.
*In Edo south, Ihama, Ize-Iyamu claim victory
Meanwhile, the APC Edo South Senatorial primary descended into controversy on Monday as Hon. Ogbiede Ihama and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu both laid claim to victory in the keenly contested exercise.
At the official collation centre in Benin City, Chairman of the APC Edo South Collation Committee, Mohammed Ajana, announced that Ihama polled 27,154 votes to lead the race, ahead of Senator Neda Imasuen’s 13,580 votes and Ize-Iyamu’s 6,785 votes from the 77 wards across the district. Ajana, however, said only the APC National Secretariat could declare the authentic winner.
In a parallel outcome, Chief Returning Officer Abubakar Muhammad Kabiru later declared Ize-Iyamu winner of the primary with 33,399 votes, while Ogbeide-Ihama allegedly scored 12,560 votes and Imasuen secured 5,107 votes.
The exercise was marred by allegations of manipulation, intimidation and attempts to hijack the process in parts of Egor, Oredo and Ikpoba-Okha local government areas, as supporters of both camps traded accusations over disruption of voting and imposition of candidates.
Senator Imasuen rejected the exercise outright, describing it as a “sham” and alleging he was denied the opportunity to vote in his ward in Uhunmwonde Local Government Area. The APC National Secretariat is now expected to determine the authentic winner of the disputed primary.
