The All Progressives Congress has come under heavy criticism over its decision to alter the list of candidates who emerged from its National Assembly primaries.
The move has also triggered fresh concerns about internal democracy and the credibility of the APC’s candidate selection process ahead of the 2027 general elections.
While the Peoples Democratic Party mocked the APC for substituting the names of some primary winners with others, the Social Democratic Party described the move as reckless, while the Labour Party condemned it as undemocratic.
But the APC asked the opposition to mind its business and focus on the crises rocking their respective parties.
The ruling party said the changes reflected fairness and wishes of its members.
Last week, the APC directed its state chapters to release the list of candidates for the 2027 elections, while also issuing the Independent National Electoral Commission nomination forms for completion and submission.
The development, however, was greeted with mixed reactions, as some aspirants who had earlier been declared winners alleged that they have been replaced, following the May Primary Election Appeal Commission’s review of petitions arising from the primaries.
According to reports, the APC National Working Committee overturned the victories of several senatorial candidates and restored six serving senators in nine states, following the recommendations of its appeal committee.
The decision came despite INEC’s warning that it would reject the names of candidates who did not emerge from primaries monitored by the commission, creating fresh uncertainty over the ruling party’s revised nominations ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Our correspondents gathered that the APC NWC, acting on the recommendations of the appeal committee, replaced winners of the May senatorial primaries in Kogi, Abia, Benue, Taraba, Ondo, Niger, Kwara, Kaduna and Ebonyi states, restoring several incumbent lawmakers whose initial defeats had sparked outrage within the ruling party.
The revised list restored the tickets of six serving senators: Sunday Karimi (Kogi West), Emmanuel Udende (Benue North-East), Titus Zam (Benue North-West), Shuaibu Isa Lau (Taraba North), Adeniyi Adegbonmire (Ondo Central), and Olajide Ipinsagba (Ondo North), while Prince Paul Ikonne replaced Edinburgh Erondu in Abia South.
Ikonne is a former Chief Executive Officer of the National Agricultural Land Development Authority.
One of the biggest casualties of the review was former Benue State governor, Gabriel Suswam, whose earlier victory in the Benue North-East primary was nullified in favour of the incumbent senator, Emmanuel Udende.
The revised candidate list has since triggered internal disagreements and raised legal concerns across several states where the primaries were conducted.
