The All Progressives Congress (APC) has concluded its list of candidates for the 2027 general elections and ruled out any possibility of reviewing the outcomes of its recently conducted primaries, despite a wave of petitions and protests from aggrieved aspirants across the country.
Findings by Sunday PUNCH indicate that the ruling party has finalized the compilation of results submitted from its primaries and is preparing to upload the names of successful candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) nomination portal.
The decision effectively shuts the door on fresh appeals and demands for reruns by dissatisfied aspirants, many of whom have accused party officials of manipulation, imposition, and irregularities during the exercise.
A senior party official and a member of the APC National Working Committee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that no review of the primary elections was being considered.
“We are not reviewing the results of the primaries. The timeline for primaries and appeals has already elapsed. We are waiting for the code to upload the results of the winners. Everything has been concluded. We don’t know anything about any review,” the official said.
INEC has fixed June 26 for the release of access codes to its nomination portal, while July 11 has been set as the deadline for the submission of candidates’ particulars for the 2027 general elections.
Appeals Yield Minimal Changes
According to party insiders, more than 54 serving federal lawmakers, including senators and members of the House of Representatives, failed to secure return tickets during the APC primaries held between May 16 and 18.
Many aggrieved aspirants across states including Lagos, Delta, Zamfara, Kogi, Rivers, Plateau, and Osun have since filed petitions, threatened legal action, and demanded fresh primaries.
Responding to questions on the party’s appeal process, the APC official said most of the petitions failed to produce significant changes to the primary results.
“From what I have seen, the appeal reports did not make any significant changes because many of the petitions were frivolous. Some raised zoning issues, which are pre-primary matters. Others involved clearance concerns that cannot invalidate primaries,” he said.
He added that, given the scale of contests nationwide, only a small fraction of petitions had merit.
Disputes Over Okowa, Chinda Emergence
Among the notable disputes is a petition reportedly filed by Senator Ned Nwoko challenging the outcome of the APC primary in Delta North, where he allegedly lost to former Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.
Nwoko is said to be contesting Okowa’s eligibility on the grounds that the former governor did not resign from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before joining the APC.
Okowa defected to the APC on April 23 alongside Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori.
Similarly, some aspirants in Rivers State have challenged the emergence of Kingsley Chinda as the party’s governorship candidate, citing questions around his status at the time of the primary.
An APC official, however, dismissed the objections, insisting that party membership records remain the sole determinant of eligibility.
“As far as the party register is concerned, he is a member of the APC. Internal membership issues cannot invalidate primaries,” the official said.
Tinubu Has Not Intervened — Party Sources
A member of the National Working Committee also dismissed reports that President Bola Tinubu had intervened in the post-primary disputes, describing such claims as unfounded.
He maintained that any presidential intervention would have occurred before the primaries, not after their conclusion.
According to him, all candidates emerging from the Lagos primaries have been confirmed and will be uploaded to the INEC portal without alteration.
“Nothing has changed and nothing will be changed. Maybe less than two per cent of petitions succeeded. There is no basis for a review,” he said.
Efforts to obtain official comments from APC National Secretary Ajibola Basiru and National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka were unsuccessful as both declined or failed to respond.
Aggrieved Aspirants Express Concerns
Meanwhile, some aggrieved aspirants have expressed hope that President Tinubu may still intervene before the final submission of candidates’ names.
One aspirant in Lagos alleged that “powerful interests” within the party were distorting the true outcome of the primaries.
He urged the President to personally review the process, insisting that fairness must prevail.
Another aspirant warned that proceeding with disputed results could weaken the party ahead of the 2027 elections, calling for internal reconciliation to prevent defections and voter apathy.
“There were protests at party secretariats over the outcome. The APC must resolve these issues or risk internal sabotage during the elections,” he said.
Credit: Punch Newspaper except headline
