Aspirants fault APC senatorial primaries in Ekiti, others

Aspirants from various parts of the country have rejected the results of Monday’s senatorial primaries of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

In Ekiti North senatorial zone, Senator Ayo Arise and Dare Owolabi faulted the outcome of the primary election on Tuesday.

The Chairman of the APC Senatorial Primary Election Committee for Ekiti State, Banjo Adedoyin, while announcing the results of the election, declared the incumbent, Senator Cyril Fasuyi, the winner.

According to the committee, Fasuyi polled 14,179 votes, Arise secured 4,868, Dipo Bamisaye had 3,694, and Dare Owolabi got 2,836.

However, Arise, while addressing journalists in Oye Ekiti, claimed he won the election based on the results from the wards, arguing that what the committee announced was fabricated.

Arise claimed that results from 33 wards showed that he scored 8,687 votes against Fasuyi’s 7,755, before the process was allegedly disrupted.

The former lawmaker said, “Election officials abandoned the exercise in 12 wards when it became obvious that I was leading, while officials failed to show up in 10 other wards across the district.

“I won the election, and I have proof. The result does not represent the wishes of the people. What happened yesterday (Monday) was fraught with irregularities, fraud, violence and intimidation. I will follow it up with the national leadership to ensure the right thing is done.”

Owolabi, speaking to reporters in Ado Ekiti, stated, “The election is not fair and a lot of irregularities across different wards. We know our people, we know what they did, we know how people voted for us, we know our people are terrorised and chased out of the venues.”

Meanwhile, Fasuyi, the winner, described the aspirants’ claims as baseless, maintaining that his victory reflected the support and acceptance he enjoyed across the five LGs in the senatorial district.

The lawmaker said, “I want to appeal to a respected leader of our great party, Senator Arise, to accept the outcome of the primary election in good faith and join hands with us to move the party forward.”

The senator, who is also the director-general of Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s re-election campaign, questioned why anyone would expect him to lose the primary election as the incumbent lawmaker.

He asserted, “Party members came out freely to vote, and the process was conducted in line with the APC guidelines.”

A former Deputy Governor of Ondo State and senatorial aspirant for the APC in Ondo South Senatorial District, Agboola Ajayi, denounced the result of the primary in the zone as fake.

A statement issued by the Agboola Alfred Ajayi Senatorial Campaign Organisation on Tuesday, obtained by The PidomNigeria, stated that the results circulating from the primary election were not authentic.

The organisation said, “ It has become highly imperative to set the record straight, most especially after the declaration of the final result of the senatorial primary election by  Mr Tunde Monehin (a former NULGE chairman and somebody we know is seriously seeking political appointment from Governor Lucky Ayedatiwa), the senatorial collating officer for Ondo South Senatorial District.

“It is very important for us to alert the public that the result so declared is not a true reflection of what transpired on the field during the election. Our agents in all the wards and local government areas in the district, having observed the primary election in their various domains, turned in their result to our collation committee, and after careful and painstaking collation by us, we detected t a very sharp difference from what was declared at the Senatorial headquarters in Okitipupa yesterday.

“The full and detailed results from all the wards are with us, but in line with our great party, APC, national secretariat directive, we have decided to step the detailed results down for now and explore our internal party machinery in resolving this knotty issue with our party leaders and stakeholders.”

Zamfara

In Zamfara State, APC senatorial aspirants criticised the process for what they called the self-serving interests of party leaders who chose consensus over direct primaries.

In separate reactions, many contestants claimed they were not consulted by anybody and were not aware of the consensus arrangements; and thus boycotted the exercise.

During the senatorial primaries in the state on Monday, our correspondent observed that the elections did not take place in most of the areas, following the announcement by the Minister of State Defence, Bello Matawalle, that consensus was reached at the Government House.

He noted, “We have agreed on consensus and have already finished the exercise. Some candidates have agreed to step down for others in all the local government areas of the state. So, we have the list of those elected, and we are happy that the exercise was a huge success.”

However, one of the contestants for the senatorial primary election, Tijjani Kaura, expressed displeasure over the exercise, stressing that what happened in the state was not an election but a calculated plan by some people to favour their favourites.

Kaura maintained that he was not invited by anybody on the issue of consensus, lamenting that he was completely unaware of the arrangements.

He said that he would not participate in the election even though he had purchased the nomination form.

Another senatorial aspirant, Dr Sani Shinkafi, also rejected the consensus arrangement.

Shinkafi accused Matawalle of killing democracy in the state, stressing that this had shrunk the chances of the APC in winning the general élections in the state.

He said that Matawalle and the past governors of the state had lied to President Bola Tinubu when they claimed that he had directed all aspirants to step down for the incumbents.

“The claim that the President has directed aspirants for senatorial primaries to withdraw for serving senators was never true.

“They have said so to scare away those aspiring to be in the National Assembly for their selfish reasons.”

He vowed to challenge the primary elections, which he described as unlawful.

A female contestant, Hajiya Lubuna Gusau, opposed the consensus claims by APC stakeholders in Zamfara.

She stated that she was not aware of any consensus reached in the state regarding the APC National Assembly primary elections.

She maintained that she had never withdrawn from the contest as announced by the APC stakeholders, adding, “I was waiting for the primary elections to hold when someone told me that the list of the successful candidates had emerged through consensus.

“Which consensus are they talking about? This is not democracy. They are only trying to kill APC in the state because most of us who purchased the nomination forms are not part of this arrangement of consensus.

“I am calling on the party stakeholders to rescind their decision and let us have primary elections for peace to reign in the party.”

A member of the primary elections committee, Yusuf Dingyadi, told The PidomNigeria that there were heated debates following the refusal of some candidates to agree on the consensus deal.

He explained, “Some of the candidates have since stepped down, while others are bent on going for primary elections.”

Nasarawa

In Nasarawa State, members of the ruling party from across the 13 LGs protested the alleged irregularities during the just-concluded primaries of the House of Representatives and senatorial primaries.

The party faithful, who gathered under the aegis of Concerned APC Members, decried the actions of the National Assembly Primary Elections Committee sent to the state to conduct the elections, noting that they were nonchalant in dutifully carrying out their assignments.

Spokesperson of the group, Abdullahi Yammani, stated this on Tuesday in Lafia while speaking with journalists at the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Nasarawa State Council, shortly after the peaceful protest.

He said as concerned members and stakeholders of the APC, it became necessary to express their dissatisfaction over the way the exercise was conducted in some parts of the state.

According to Yammani, information available to the group revealed that in some wards within Lafia and its environs, election materials were either not supplied or arrived very late, making it impossible for party members to fully participate in the exercise.

He mentioned some of the affected wards as Gayam, Akurba, Wakwa, Agyraragu, Assakio, Ashige, ‘Shabu/Kwandare, Keffi-Wambai and Arikya wards, among others.

“It is unfortunate that there was no properly coordinated arrangement for the collation and submission of results across the state, a situation which created confusion and raised serious concerns about the credibility and transparency of the entire process.

“Furthermore, many party members have continued to express concern over the role played by some officials saddled with the responsibility of supervising the exercise, especially with reports that officials expected from the national headquarters of the party were not visibly present in several affected areas during the election.

“There are also growing concerns among party faithful regarding the conduct of some members of the APC leadership in Nasarawa State, notably decisions during the exercise that appeared to favour certain candidates and individuals, thereby raising questions about fairness and neutrality in the process,” he stated.

The group, therefore called on the national leadership of the party, to urgently look into the conduct of the Nasarawa State primary elections and take necessary steps to address the complaints raised by party members in the interest of peace, justice and unity.

Kwara

In Kwara State, the Ekiti Local Government stakeholders of the APC petitioned the national chairman of the party on their disaffection with the conduct of the Ekiti/Oke-Ero/Isin/Irepodun Federal Constituency primary election held on Sunday, April 17, 2026.

The stakeholders and elders, in an open letter, said they had passed a vote of no confidence on the Ekiti LG chairman of APC and his team following non-compliance with the party’s directives and bringing of the constitutional provisions on the conduct of the primary election in the Federal constituency.

In the petition titled “Petition for a vote of no confidence against Mr James Ajibola, APC party chairman, Ekiti LGA and his team”, jointly signed by Alhaji Olaiya Bello and Chief J.B. Ayeni, Chairman of Ekiti Elders and Stakeholders Forum, respectively, of  Ekiti LGA, a copy of which was obtained by The PidomNigeria.

“We, committed stakeholders and dedicated members of the All Progressives Congress in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, hereby submit this formal complaint to register our discontent and withdrawal of confidence in the conduct of Mr James Ayoola Ajibola and his executive team concerning the unauthorised release of outcomes for the Federal House of Representatives primary election.

“It is alarming that in spite of the explicit directive from the national leadership of our party that no person, faction, or local organ should release any result until an official pronouncement is made by the appropriate federal organs, some individuals willfully defied this order and publicly presented an outcome that has no endorsement from the national body.

“Such behaviour constitutes a clear breach of party discipline and authority, and it tarnishes the reputation and credibility of the APC at both the state and federal levels.”

It added that the incident had generated needless friction, confusion, and division among party members within Ekiti LGA and across the state.

“We are concerned that those entrusted with party leadership could openly disregard the established procedures and constitutional provisions of the APC. This conduct erodes internal democracy, diminishes trust in the party’s structure, and portrays the APC as a platform where personal ambition overrides due process.

“For these reasons, we hereby declare a vote of no confidence in Mr James Ayoola Ajibola and all persons associated with this unlawful announcement and subsequent actions that have brought the party into public disrepute.

“Consequently, we respectfully urge the National Working Committee and the leadership of our great party to launch a thorough inquiry into this incident and impose appropriate disciplinary sanctions on all those found guilty, including suspension or expulsion where warranted,” the group added.

It would be recalled that the Ekiti APC local government executive released a result for the party’s primary election conducted in Ekiti/Oke-Ero/Isin/Irepodun Federal Constituency, in which it declared Ganiyu Abolarin as the winner of the election.

“Current Kwara State House of Assembly member, Hon. Ganiyu Abolarin, on Saturday dislodged a House of Representatives lawmaker representing Irepodun/Isin/Ekiti/Oke-Ero Federal Constituency, Hon. Raheem Olawuyi, during the All Progressives Congress House of Reps primaries,” the primary election result stated.

Hon Olawuyi is currently serving his second term in the green legislative chamber.

Abolarin polled over 17,000 votes to defeat Olawuyi with 2,000 votes.

But APC elders, leaders and stakeholders from Ekiti and Oke-Ero LG kicked against the conduct of the election, which they claimed did not take place.

Addressing reporters in Ilorin on Tuesday, chairman of the group, Olaiya Bello, said that the primaries were marred by irregularities and manipulation.

Olaiya added, “We have invited you here again today to draw the attention of the general public, the leadership of our great party, relevant electoral authorities and all lovers of democracy to the unfortunate irregularities, manipulation and outright violation of democratic principles that characterised the recent primary election conducted to select the party’s candidate for the House of  Representatives seat for the Ekiti/Oke Ero/Isin/Irepodun Federal Constituency.

“What was expected to be a transparent, credible and democratic process turned out to be a complete mockery of internal democracy and a deliberate attempt to impose a preferred candidate on the people.

“Our greatest concern is the shocking situation in Ekiti Local Government, where no voting exercise took place at all.”

He claimed that party members who had assembled in anticipation of participating in the exercise were left stranded as electoral officials failed to show up to conduct the primary in the local government area.

“It is important to state clearly that Ekiti Local Government is a major and integral component of the Federal Constituency. Denying party members from the area the opportunity to vote in the direct primary amounts to disenfranchisement, injustice and a gross violation of their constitutional and democratic rights within the party structure.

“More disturbing is the fact that there was no visible presence of officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Ekiti Local Government to monitor or supervise the exercise as required by the Electoral Act and established guidelines governing party primaries.

“The absence of electoral supervision created room for manipulation, fabrication of results and abuse of process.

“We, therefore, wish to state unequivocally that any result purportedly arising from such a flawed, incomplete and irregular exercise cannot represent the genuine will of party members and stakeholders across the constituency. Democracy thrives on fairness, transparency, inclusiveness and adherence to laid down rules. Once these principles are compromised, the integrity of the entire process becomes questionable,” he added.

Plateau

A chieftain of the APC and aspirant for Plateau North senatorial seat in the National Assembly, Pam Dachungyang, also rejected the conduct of the ruling party’s senate primary for Plateau North, describing it as a “sham election” that failed to meet democratic standards.

Dachungyang, who is the incumbent senator representing Plateau North in the National Assembly, spoke to journalists in Jos on Tuesday after meeting with his campaign team, aides, coordinators and other stakeholders to review the exercise.

“This (Tuesday) morning, I was able to receive a briefing from my coordinators and aides on the APC primary election for the Senate that took place yesterday (Monday), which was not good, and the aim was for them to tell me what happened in various locations.

“Honestly, it was very bad information that I received, and I felt that in the normal democratic processes, every vote counts. Surprisingly, that was not to be,” he said.

The senator said his coordinators were ready for the polls, but officials of the party were absent in several areas.

“We came out joyfully to participate. My coordinators were ready, and everything was set, but the officials of the APC, who were supposed to conduct the election, came in some places and in some other places, there was nobody. Shockingly, I was told that most of the officials were called to various LGAs. Only God knows how and what they will announce as voting results,” he added.

Dachungyang condemned the process, saying it violated both the spirit of democracy and the APC constitution.

“Given my observation, I condemn the conduct of the exercise in my constituency. This is not what we in the National Assembly planned. The beauty of democracy is to allow everybody to exercise their rights and franchise and choose a person of their choice during an election.

“The tenets of APC, as outlined in their own constitution, state that they agree on consensus or direct primary. These are the two methods by which a candidate can be chosen as enshrined in the constitution of the party, but what we saw yesterday was a different ball game, the lawmaker enunciated.

He said no consensus was reached ahead of the primary and that he was not consulted as the sitting senator.

“If there is any consensus, it should have been done before the primary election, and it should be with the express consent of the contestants to agree on a particular candidate. But nothing of such happened. I’m a sitting senator, but nobody called me for any consensus.

“As a sitting senator who knows the laws more than whomever that is there, but I was not consulted, and I felt it is correct that all of us should go for the election clean and keep the party in good shape,” Dachungyang stated.

Kaduna

On Tuesday in Kaduna, aggrieved aspirants staged a protest against the outcome of the exercise, alleging widespread irregularities and violations of party guidelines.

The protesters, who stormed major streets in Kaduna metropolis, including the ever-busy Muhammadu Buhari Way, demanded the cancellation of the primaries conducted across the three senatorial districts of the state.

The protest followed the emergence of Senator Sunday Katung, former Governor Ramalan Yero and Senator Shehu Sani as winners of the APC senatorial tickets ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The demonstrators carried placards bearing inscriptions such as, “There was no APC primaries in Kaduna”, “Give us our preferred candidate”, and “APC must save democracy”.

The protest was led by Senator Danjuma Laah alongside other aggrieved aspirants, including Michael Auta and Yusuf Ikara.

Earlier, at a press conference at the Kaduna State Council Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, the aggrieved aspirants warned that they would seek legal redress should the party fail to address their complaints.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Laah accused the party of abandoning the direct primary system approved by the APC National Working Committee.

He said, “The National Working Committee officially approved direct primaries for the exercise, but what was conducted was an unauthorised delegate system.”

The protesters alleged that party members were denied the opportunity to vote at the ward level in line with the approved guidelines.

The group faulted the Kaduna South senatorial primary, which produced Katung as the winner, alleging a lack of transparency and proper monitoring during the exercise.

“A senator, Sunday Katung, was illegally declared the winner with over 7,500 votes purportedly cast by delegates despite the absence of proper voting procedures and party officials across the district,” the group alleged.

The aggrieved aspirants further claimed that electoral materials and officials were not adequately deployed across several wards and polling centres during the primaries.

According to them, the conduct of the exercise contravened Section 84 of the Electoral Act 2022 as well as Article 20 of the APC constitution relating to nomination procedures and internal democracy.

They therefore called on the APC National Working Committee, the party’s appeal committee and the Independent National Electoral Commission to intervene and order fresh primaries across Kaduna North, Kaduna Central and Kaduna South senatorial districts.

Among those identified by the group as aggrieved aspirants were former Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Yusuf Zailani, Mohammed Mu’azu Makkadas and several other contenders from the three senatorial zones.

Delta

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the APC National Assembly Primaries Appeal Committee for Delta State, Dr Chukwuemeka Ujam, on Tuesday, disclosed that the committee had received five petitions arising from the party’s recently concluded National Assembly primaries in the state.

Ujam, who spoke with journalists at the APC secretariat in Asaba, said the committee was already reviewing petitions submitted by aggrieved party members and stakeholders over the conduct of the exercises.

He explained that the five-member panel was in Delta State in line with the provisions guiding the conduct of the APC primary elections.

According to him, the committee first arrived in the state on Sunday shortly after the House of Representatives primaries and later reconvened following the senatorial district primaries to continue its assignment.

“We have been receiving petitions and we will prepare our reports later. The process is still ongoing because the day is not yet over,” he said.

On the outcome of the senatorial primaries in the state, Ujam clarified that the committee’s mandate was strictly limited to examining complaints relating to the conduct of the primaries.

“As we receive the petitions, we are already reviewing them and making our notes on each one. But you do not expect me to divulge what we are doing,” he stated.

Benue

In Benue, Lawrence Onoja Jnr, son of retired Major General Lawrence Onoja, and another aspirant, Andrew Abu, on Tuesday challenged the election of Blessing Onuh, daughter of the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, David Mark.

The two aspirants in the House of Representatives primary election of the APC on Tuesday submitted their petitions at the party secretariat in Makurdi, challenging the election of Onuh.

The House of Representatives primary election took place on Saturday across the state, with four aspirants contesting the election in Otukpo/Ohinmini Federal Constituency, where Onuh was declared winner.

However, speaking with journalists at the party secretariat on Tuesday, the aspirants alleged that the election materials were hijacked by supporters of Onuh.

They also alleged that the votes allocated to the winner were higher than the registered members in the two LGs.

Onoja Jnr said, “The election that was held on Saturday in the first instance violated the zoning arrangements because we want the zoning to be respected and instead of conducting the election at the various council wards as it ought to be, the venue of the election was moved to a hotel.”

In his submission, Andrew Agbo, who corroborated Onoja, said, “The zoning arrangements should be respected; in fact, the votes allocated to Blessing Onuh were more than the total registered members in both Otukpo and Ohinmini Federal

Constituency.”

The duo, who expressed optimism that the appeal panel would look into their petitions and do the needful, however, warned that the party may be sliding into doom if urgent steps were not taken to correct the anomaly.

In 2007, Onoja and Mark contested for the Peoples Democratic Party senatorial ticket but Onoja lost to Mark.

Also, in 2011, Onoja defected to the then Action Congress of Nigeria and challenged Mark in the general elections but lost.

In 2015, Onoja again declared his intention to contest the PDP senatorial ticket for Benue South, but later stepped down, and Mark won the election.

Meanwhile, former Minister of Transportation, Saidu Alkali, on Tuesday urged members of the ruling party to protect their votes ahead of the party’s governorship direct primary election.

Alkali, who led a rally from his residence in the Government Reserved Area to the Emir of Gombe ground, charged supporters to remain vigilant and ensure a credible exercise during the primary.

Alkali, who lost out in the consensus arrangement that produced Jamilu Gwamna, told supporters that the direct primary process was about participation and accountability.

Additional reports: Tunde Oyekola, James Abraham, Godwin Isenyo, John Charles, Chima Azubuike