By Frontline Reporters
Primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) held across several states on Wednesday produced a mix of returning and new candidates through consensus and direct primary elections, amid protests and allegations of irregularities in some areas.
In Kaduna State, Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Dahiru Liman; Deputy Speaker, Magaji Danjuma; and Majority Leader, Munira Tanimu, secured APC tickets for the 2027 state assembly elections through consensus affirmation exercises held across the state.
The lawmakers emerged unopposed during separate primary exercises conducted in their constituencies.
Liman was unanimously affirmed as the APC candidate for Makera State Constituency during the party’s primary exercise attended by party leaders, electoral officials and supporters.
Declaring the result, Returning Officer Ezekiel Samuel Gode said the Speaker emerged as the sole consensus candidate after securing affirmation across the five voting areas in the constituency.
“Having received the affirmation results from the five voting areas and with no other contestant in the race, I hereby declare Rt. Hon. Liman Tahiru as the duly returned and affirmed candidate for the Makera State Constituency seat,” he said.
Similarly, Danjuma emerged as the APC candidate for Kagarko State Constituency after party members across the wards endorsed him in an uncontested exercise.
The APC Returning Officer, Abdulrahman Apo Jere, formally declared Danjuma the winner at the local government collation centre following the affirmation process.
Also, Tanimu clinched the APC ticket for Lere East Constituency after an affirmation exercise conducted across the constituency’s six wards.
Meanwhile, several APC aspirants for Kaduna State House of Assembly seats withdrew from the race and endorsed consensus candidates.
Speaking on behalf of the aspirants, Abdulrazaq Shuibu Labbo, an aspirant for Kaka/Gogi constituency in Birnin Gwari, said the decision followed consultations and interventions by Governor Uba Sani.
“We stand in full solidarity with the progressive leadership of Governor Senator Uba Sani and reaffirm our unwavering commitment to his successful re-election and the overall victory of the APC in Kaduna State and across the nation,” he said.
In Kogi State, Emmanuel Obaro clinched the APC ticket for Yagba East State Constituency after winning all 10 wards in the direct primary election held on Wednesday.
Party stakeholders described the outcome as a reflection of Obaro’s grassroots mobilisation and performance in office.
In Lagos, Ganiyu Egunjobi emerged as the APC candidate for Agege Constituency I, while Azeez Oladapo Yusuf secured the ticket for Agege Constituency II.
The results came as Mudasiru Obasa secured the APC ticket for Agege Federal Constituency.
However, the Lagos primaries were overshadowed by controversies following the defeat of actor-turned-lawmaker Desmond Elliot in his bid to return as a member representing Surulere Constituency I in the Lagos State House of Assembly.
Barakat Bakare defeated Elliot by a wide margin in a contest marred by allegations of intimidation, exclusion and procedural irregularities.
Bakare, believed to enjoy the backing of Femi Gbajabiamila, polled 11,355 votes across six wards, while Elliot secured 270 votes.
Elliot rejected the process and withdrew his agents from the venue midway through the exercise.
“When I entered, I discovered that all my supporters were outside. They weren’t being allowed in,” he said.
“The next thing I heard was that in 20 minutes, they were going to stop the process. How can you stop in 20 minutes?”
He further alleged that the process was characterised by intimidation and violence.
In Ikeja Constituency I, Adeseyi Lawal emerged unopposed during a party affirmation exercise attended by party leaders, delegates and supporters.
In Delta State, Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Emomotimi Guwor, emerged as the APC candidate for Warri South-West Constituency.
Other winners included Orobosa Ashakah in Isoko North Constituency, Lucky Idhoveh in Isoko South Constituency I, and incumbent lawmaker Ferguson Onwo in Isoko South Constituency II.
Deputy Speaker of the Delta Assembly, Arthur Akpowowo, also secured victory for Ethiope East Constituency.
In Ogun State, the House of Assembly primaries were held peacefully across the 26 state constituencies.
Governor Dapo Abiodun, who participated in the exercise in Ikenne Local Government Area, described the primary election as peaceful, transparent and reflective of internal democracy.
Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Daisi Elemide, secured 2,115 votes during the consensus exercise in Odeda Local Government Area.
In Edo State, Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Atu Osawonyi, lost his re-election bid to Ikpomwonsa Aitusi.
Former Deputy Speaker, Yekini Idiaye, representing Akoko-Edo I, also lost the APC ticket to Humphrey Adewunmi.
However, Speaker of the Edo Assembly, Blessing Agbebaku, won his primary election.
In Benue State, Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Lami Danladi-Ogenyi, won the APC primary for Ado State Constituency after polling 7,132 votes.
Meanwhile, former Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly, Hyacinth Dajoh, withdrew from the APC primary election for Gboko West State Constituency over alleged irregularities and lack of transparency.
Dajoh later defected to the Peoples Democratic Party, according to allies of former governor Samuel Ortom.
In Kwara State, the APC cleared all 159 aspirants contesting for tickets to the State House of Assembly after reversing an earlier screening outcome that disqualified more than half of the contenders.
The revised list included Speaker Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, who had not initially appeared among the cleared aspirants.
The reversal followed anxiety and protests within the party over the earlier disqualifications.
However, some aspirants for the Ifelodun/Offa/Oyun Federal Constituency ticket rejected the outcome of the primary election held on May 16, alleging widespread irregularities.
One of the aspirants, Ademola Samad, accused party officials of conducting a flawed exercise.
“Our major concern is that across the Ifelodun/Offa/Oyun Federal Constituency, no election took place. There were irregularities across the board and protests in several places,” he said.
Another aspirant, Akeem Ayinla Ishola Balogun, faulted the alleged consensus arrangement adopted by the party.
“If this election is to stand, then it must be done democratically. The rules and regulations are there in the party constitution,” he said.
In Nasarawa State, Governor Abdullahi Sule emerged winner of the APC senatorial primary election for Nasarawa North Senatorial District.
Sule polled 47,393 votes to defeat former Deputy Governor of the state, Silas Ali Agara, who scored 2,915 votes.
The Returning Officer, Musa Shuaibu Guri, described the exercise as peaceful, credible and transparent.
Also in Nasarawa, former Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Faisal Shuaib, emerged winner of the APC primary election for Nasarawa West Senatorial District after polling 98,614 votes through affirmation.
In Ondo State, APC aspirant for Ilaje/Ese-Odo Federal Constituency, Monday Akinyomi, petitioned President Bola Tinubu over alleged manipulation and hijacking of the party’s primary election.
In a petition dated May 18, 2026, Akinyomi alleged that the primary election scheduled for May 16 was not held because party officials failed to appear at the venue.
The aspirant warned that the alleged manipulation could undermine confidence in the party’s internal democratic process and appealed to the APC national leadership to ensure justice and fairness.
In Edo State, members of the House of Representatives, Esosa Iyawe and Marcus Onobun, as well as Senator Neda Imasuen, submitted petitions challenging the conduct of the primaries.
Iyawe alleged result manipulation, suppression of genuine figures and violence against supporters, while Onobun insisted the declared outcome did not reflect the true voting pattern across the constituency.
In Cross River State, APC aspirants Eteng Jones Williams and Mary Ekpere rejected results circulating online for the Cross River Central Senatorial District, insisting that no primary election took place across the 66 wards in the district.
Williams said party officials failed to appear for the exercise, while Ekpere alleged that aspirants were denied access to electoral materials and voting opportunities.
Also in Ondo State, APC aspirant Alex Ajipe rejected the outcome of the Ondo North Senatorial District primary.
According to the results released by the Chairman of the National Assembly Primary Election Committee, Iboroma Harry Dabib, former House of Representatives member Gbenga Elegbeleye won the poll with 28,062 votes, defeating incumbent senator Olajide Ipinsagba and other aspirants.
Ajipe alleged that elections in four local governments were manipulated through allocation of votes rather than actual voting.
Meanwhile, members of the APC under the aegis of Concerned APC Members protested alleged irregularities in the conduct of House of Representatives and senatorial primaries in Nasarawa State.
Spokesperson of the group, Abdullahi Yammani, accused the National Assembly primary elections committee of failing to properly conduct the exercise in several wards where electoral materials allegedly arrived late or were not supplied at all.
In Jigawa State, the APC adopted consensus to pick 30 flagbearers for the State House of Assembly ahead of the 2027 general elections, with 18 incumbents returning and 11 new candidates emerging.
Speaker of the Jigawa State House of Assembly, Haruna Dangyatim, emerged as the APC candidate for his constituency through affirmation.
Speaking after the exercise, Dangyatim described the process as a reflection of unity within the party and thanked party members and officials for the confidence reposed in him.
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2026-05-20