The All Progressives Congress (APC) is grappling with a wave of internal discord across the country following the conduct of its 2027 primaries, with aggrieved aspirants in Rivers, Lagos, Kaduna, Ebonyi, Cross River, Benue, Oyo, Bayelsa, Ogun, Edo, Imo and Niger States raising allegations of manipulation, imposition and disregard for internal democracy.

This is even as party leaders scramble to contain the fallout before the submission of candidate lists takes full effect.

In Rivers State, the mood remains tense and fractured following the screening and disqualification exercise that deepened the divide between loyalists of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and those aligned with Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

Of the 98 House of Assembly aspirants screened, only 33 were cleared, with all 32 aspirants believed to be aligned with Fubara disqualified over issues ranging from unpaid dues to alleged inducement.

High profile casualties include Senator Ipalibo Banigo and businessman Jack Rich Tein while a coalition protested the latter’s disqualification as unjust.

The Emeka Beke-led faction of the party, citing court judgements, has called on the APC leadership to cancel all primaries conducted by the Tony Okocha led faction, declaring all candidates, including governorship candidate Kingsley Chinda, as lacking valid standing.

Reconciliation efforts by Governor Fubara have been minimal, with insinuations that his supporters are eyeing a move to the Nigeria Democratic Congress.

In Lagos State, submission of candidates’ names to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has done little to calm tempers, as several lawmakers reportedly backed by the Governance Advisory Council lost their return tickets.

Fourteen of the 40 Lagos State House of Assembly members failed to secure denominations, among them the Majority Leader, Noheem Adams and the Chief Whip, Fatai Mojeed.

Prominent House of Representatives members, including Kafilat Ogbara and Ganiyu Adele Ayuba, also lost out. Although no court cases or major defections have yet been recorded, political observers warn that unresolved grievances could still trigger realignments if reconciliation efforts fail.

The Lagos APC Chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, has appealed to aggrieved members to accept the outcome and work for party unity.

In Kaduna State, the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), replaced Samaila Abdu Suleiman, an ally of Governor Uba Sani, with Abdulazeez Kaka for the Kaduna North federal constituency seat.

Former Speaker Yusuf Zailani, who lost the Kaduna Central senatorial race to consensus candidate Shehu Sani, has dismissed speculation of a possible defection, insisting his loyalty to the party remains unshaken.

Other aggrieved aspirants, including Danjuma Laah, Michael Ayuba Auta, Yusuf Bala Ikara and Mohammed Mu’azu Makkadas, had earlier threatened legal action, though there is no indication yet that they remain opposed to the emergence of the party’s consensus candidates.

Ebonyi State is similarly unsettled, particularly in the Afikpo/Edda federal constituency, where former Minister of State for Health, Joseph Ekumankama, emerged as the party’s flag bearer for the 2027 election despite Chief Iduma Igariwey Enwo having earlier been declared winner of the primary by the party’s own electoral committee.

Igariwey is backed by Governor Francis Nwifuru while Ekumankama enjoys the support of the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi.

Nwifuru reportedly travelled to Abuja over the development and met President Bola Ahmed Tinubu alongside other governors whose preferred candidates were similarly replaced, though the outcome of that meeting remains unknown.

The state APC Chairman, Chief Stanley Okoro Emegha, has since appealed to aggrieved aspirants not to sabotage the party.

Cross River State presents perhaps the widest spread of unresolved rifts. In the Central Senatorial District, sitting Senator Eteng Jonah Williams lost to Chief Oden Ewa amid petitions and questions over the winner’s eligibility, while aspirant Mary Ekpere has formally petitioned the party’s national leadership.

In the north, Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe secured his ticket only after the intervention of the Presidency in his fierce contest with former Governor Ben Ayade, who is yet to publicly endorse him. In the south, Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong’s main rival, Daniel Asuquo, has withheld his endorsement following a late withdrawal. Protests and allegations have also trailed the outcomes in the Ogoja/Yala, Obudu/Bekwarra/Obanliku and Akamkpa/Biase federal constituencies.

Governor Bassey Otu has since set up a 21-member reconciliation committee and announced a refund of nomination fees for aspirants who lost, though it remains unclear how far the initiative has progressed.

In Benue State, the National Working Committee (NWC) upturned several primary results, replacing candidates perceived to be loyal to Governor Hyacinth Alia with those aligned to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume.

Senator Emmanuel Udende replaced Senator Gabriel Suswam for Benue North East, while Senator Titus Zam returned in place of Benjamin Aber for Benue Northwest.

In the House of Representatives, Terseer Ugbor’s substitution for Prof. Kohol Shedrack Iornem in the Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency has triggered the most visible backlash, with protesters noting that Kohol had polled 40,672 votes against Ugbor’s 750.

Demonstrators carried placards demanding the return of their mandate and invoking longstanding grievances over political marginalisation between the Kwande and Ushongo local government areas.

Some aggrieved politicians have reportedly defected internally to the Akume camp, which is said to be in a strategic partnership with the Peoples Democratic Party in the state.

In Oyo State, the APC has formally presented Senator Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli as its governorship candidate, but the party remains haunted by old fault lines dating back to 2018.

Chief Adebayo Adelabu, who resigned as Minister of Power to contest, came a distant third in the primaries and has rejected the outcome outright, alleging manipulation and fabricated results.

A group of five governorship aspirants known as the G5 bloc had earlier demanded a free and transparent primary, warning against the imposition of a consensus candidate.

The party has since set up a 36-member reconciliation committee to manage the fallout, even as some stakeholders insist that public appeals for unity cannot substitute for genuine fairness.

Bayelsa State stands out as a rare example of relative calm, with the party crediting patronage politics and inclusive engagement for containing tensions.

Governor Douye Diri’s administration has reabsorbed aspirants who resigned appointments to contest, while the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Samuel Ogbuku, and the Minister of State for Petroleum, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, have played active roles in pacifying aggrieved members through appointments and contracts.

In Edo State, the party insists it remains united despite a bitterly contested Edo South senatorial primary that produced Omoregie Ogbeide Ihama as candidate ahead of incumbent Senator Neda Imasuen and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, who have since remained unreachable for comment.

In Imo State, the party has downplayed any threat of defection, with the State Publicity Secretary, Onwuasoanya Jones, describing the state as effectively a one party state under Governor Hope Uzodimma.

However, some party members who spoke on condition of anonymity claimed that certain aggrieved aspirants based in Abuja were quietly preparing for legal battles.

In Niger State, the fallout has proved far more damaging, with the storm raised by the primaries yet to settle and members already breaking away from the party.

Ahead of the exercise, Governor Umaru Mohammed Bago had signalled that consensus arrangements would be adopted to select candidates, with direct primaries reserved for constituencies where consensus failed.

In practice, only the Niger South senatorial seat and the Bosso/Paikoro federal constituency were contested directly, with the remaining 10 House of Representatives seats and two senatorial seats settled through what party chieftain Jonathan Vatsa described as arrangements orchestrated from the government house.

The backlash has been swift, with former councillors in Bida local government area, a former Chief of Staff to former governor Abubakar Sani Bello, Mikil Mitoshia and two former commissioners, Alhaji Abubakar Katcha and Nasara Dan Mallam, among hundreds who have resigned from the party across the state’s twenty-five local government areas.

A reconciliation committee set up by the state working committee has made no significant progress. Vatsa, pioneer publicity secretary of the party in the state, described the primaries as a facade and warned that the party risked self destruction unless genuine fence mending was undertaken before the general election.

By contrast, Ogun State has recorded comparative calm, with the release of the National Assembly candidate list producing little protest.

A party chieftain said all names forwarded from the state made the final list approved by the National Working Committee, although a protest letter was submitted over the emergence of Olanrewaju Bashorun as the House of Representatives candidate for Ado Odo/Ota Federal Constituency, on the grounds that he had recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The protest did not alter the outcome. Some members in Ewekoro local government area alleged that consensus arrangements had been skewed in certain constituencies, but credited engagement efforts by the party’s governorship candidate, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, along with the leadership of Governor Dapo Abiodun and National Leader Aremo Olusegun Osoba, with helping to mend the cracks.

As the APC intensifies reconciliation efforts across these states ahead of the 2027 general elections, the scale and persistence of the grievances suggest that the party’s greatest test may no longer come from its opposition rivals but from within its own ranks. (The Sun)

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