The All Progressives Congress has officially dropped Gbenga Elegbeleye, Gabriel Suswam, and four other senatorial hopefuls from its final list submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The drastic shake-up also axes 19 House of Representatives contestants who had previously celebrated victories in the party’s May 2026 primary elections.
A letter jointly signed by APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda and National Secretary Ajibola Basiru confirmed that the changes came after reviewing reports from the Primary Election Appeal Committee.
Hon. Elegbeleye
The party leadership explicitly stated: “Following the determination of appeals from the recently concluded primary elections, the reports of the Appeal Committee were reviewed and subsequently considered and approved by the party’s NWC as its final position on the affected constituencies.”
They further added: “In accordance with the amended Electoral Act 2022 and INEC’s regulations and guidelines, we hereby transmit the enclosed list of the approved candidates for seven senatorial districts and 19 House of Representatives constituencies for your records and necessary action.”
While some political dreams were cut short, big heavyweights like former Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello and Shehu Sani successfully sailed through to secure their senatorial tickets.
High-profile leaders including Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau, and former Edo Governor Adams Oshiomhole also secured their Candidate Affidavit Forms.
Four sitting state governors including AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Hope Uzodimma, Ahmadu Fintiri, and Inuwa Yahaya were successfully cleared to transition to the Senate.
For the House of Representatives, major political figures like Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, and Mudashiru Obasa are locked in to fly the party’s flag.
Political parties face a strict deadline to upload their candidates’ data onto the INEC nomination portal, which closes firmly at 6 p.m. on July 10.
Prof. Ibrahim Sani, the acting Director-General of the Electoral Institute, emphasized that candidate nomination is a fundamental stage of the electoral process.
He warned that the success of any election begins with the proper nomination of candidates, meaning political parties must fully understand and comply with the rules.
The internal fallout from these decisions has been massive, with APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka revealing that the party received over 700 petitions from aggrieved members.
Despite the internal friction, Morka stressed that the party’s absolute priority right now is beating the clock to upload candidate forms rather than publishing lists.
Defending the decision to keep the full list close to their chest, Morka stated: “Although we will eventually release the list, our immediate priority is to ensure that our candidates complete their forms and meet INEC’S deadline.”
