2026 Ahead of 2027: Five defected govs, allied lawmakers face uncertain fate in APC
2026 Ahead of 2027: Five defected govs, allied lawmakers face uncertain fate in APC
2026 Ahead of 2027: Five defêcted govs, allied lawmakers face uncertain fate in APC
APC governors adopt Tinubu as sole candidate for 2027 presidential poll
•Fierce battle for reelection ticket looms
By Clifford Ndujihe, Anayo Okoli, Sam Oyadongha, Egufe Yafugborhi, Dan Abia, Ochuko Akuopha & Marie-Therese Nanlong
BARELY 13 months to the 2027 general elections, a wave of high-profile defections into the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has dramatically altered the political landscape across several states.
While the movement of sitting Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governors into the party has strengthened APC’s numerical advantage, it has also exposed deep fault lines, setting the stage for fierce internal battles over leadership, structure and, ultimately, party tickets.
From Akwa Ibom to Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Plateau and Enugu, the central question confronting the APC is whether it can convert elite consensus into grassroots cohesion or whether unresolved rivalries will implode at the primaries.
Sharing of APC tickets to test Akpabio-Eno alliance in A/Ibom
Ahead of the polls, the APC in Akwa Ibom State faces the real prospect of internal crisis following the June 2025 defection of Governor Umo Eno from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
At the heart of the looming tension is how the party’s two dominant power centres -Governor Eno, who controls state resources, and Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who commands federal influence -will share party tickets for state and National Assembly offices without triggering implosion.
In his defection speech, Governor Eno spoke glowingly of mutual trust between himself, Akpabio and President Bola Tinubu, stressing that the understanding guaranteed automatic tickets for his second-term bid and Akpabio’s political future, while committing all three to deliver Akwa Ibom to the APC.
Conspicuously absent, however, was any assurance for the 26 PDP lawmakers and political appointees who defected alongside him. Apart from Akpabio, even serving APC lawmakers at the National Assembly are uncertain about their chances of securing return tickets.
One lawmaker confided to Sunday Vanguard: “This crisis is inevitable. The smiles between Akpabio and Governor Eno will fade once INEC blows the whistle. Sharing tickets will displace many of us who followed Eno into APC. Some colleagues are already shopping for alternative platforms.”
Fearing backlash from displaced incumbents with strong voter bases, Governor Eno has unveiled the slogan “Akwa Ibom United,” a political doctrine first popularised by the recently displaced PDP chairman, Aniekan Akpan.
