AT A GLANCE: Seven governors, 12 ex-governors, 51 senators secure APC tickets
AT A GLANCE: Seven governors, 12 ex-governors, 51 senators secure APC tickets
The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday concluded senatorial primary elections in several states ahead of the 2027 general election, with serving governors, former governors, and incumbent lawmakers dominating the contests.
Seven serving governors emerged as senatorial candidates of the ruling party during the exercise.
They are Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa, Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe, Hope Uzodimma of Imo, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun, Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara, and Mai Mala Buni of Yobe.
Apart from the serving governors, 12 former governors also secured APC senatorial tickets during the primaries.
They are Godswill Akpabio, senate president and former governor of Akwa Ibom state; Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia); Adams Oshiomhole (Edo); Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta); Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto); Gabriel Suswam (Benue); Ramalan Yero (Kaduna); Yahaya Bello (Kogi); Adamu Aliero (Kebbi), Simon Lalong (Plateau), Ibrahim Shekarau (Kano) and Sani Bello (Niger).
The primaries also produced victories for several high-ranking federal lawmakers and party leaders.
Akpabio retained the APC ticket for Akwa Ibom north-west senatorial district, while Jibrin Barau, deputy senate president, secured the ticket for Kano north.
Opeyemi Bamidele, senate leader, retained the APC ticket for Ekiti central, while Yemi Adaramodu, senate spokesperson, won the Ekiti south primary.
However, Lola Ashiru, deputy senate leader, lost the APC senatorial ticket for Kwara south to Muheebah Dankaka, former chairperson of the Federal Character Commission (FCC).
SERVING SENATORS DOMINATE APC TICKETS
So far, 51 serving senators have secured APC tickets to seek re-election in 2027.
However, 14 serving senators were defeated during the primaries across different states.
Among those defeated were Ashiru, Pam Dachungyang in Plateau north, Eteng Williams in Cross River central, Osita Izunaso in Imo west, Ned Nwoko in Delta north, Olubiyi Fadeyi in Osun central, and Samaila Kaila in Bauchi north.
Others are Diket Plang in Plateau central, Adeniyi Adegbonmire in Ondo central, Peter Jiya in Niger south, Titus Zam in Benue north-west, Lola Ashiru in Kwara south, Olajide Ipinsagba in Ondo north and Emmanuel Udende in Benue north-east.
Some serving senators either stepped down from the race, were disqualified, or declined to seek re-election.
Musa Mustapha stepped down for Buni in Yobe east, while Amos Yohanna withdrew for Fintiri in Adamawa north. Ezenwa Onyewuchi of Imo east is contesting the governorship primaries.
In Rivers west, Ipalibo Banigo, former deputy governor of the state, was disqualified from the primary but vowed to appeal the decision.
Nasiru Zangon did not seek re-election in Katsina north, while Sharafadeen Alli and Salihu Mustapha from Oyo south and Kwara central respectively opted to pursue governorship ambitions.
In Ogun west, Solomon Adeola emerged as the APC consensus governorship candidate instead of seeking another senate term. Aliyu Wadada of Nasarawa west also emerged as the APC consensus governorship candidate in his state.
The primaries also highlighted defections and political realignments within the APC.
In Edo south, Ogbeide-Ihama Omoregie defeated Neda Imaseun, who defected from the Labour Party to the APC in July 2025.
Ibrahim Baba defeated Kaila in Bauchi north after the senator defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC in 2025.
In Niger south, Idris Kutigi defeated Jiya, who moved from the PDP to the APC in March. Pam Dachungyang, who moved from the Action Democratic Party (ADP) to the APC in January 2026, was defeated by Simon Mwadkwon, his predecessor.
However, Benson Friday Konbowei, senator representing Bayelsa central, who defected from the PDP to the APC in October 2025, secured the party’s ticket.
Some contests were also shaped by withdrawals and unresolved disputes.
In Ogun east, Abiodun emerged after Gbenga Daniel, former governor of the state, withdrew from the race days before the primary.
In Kogi east, Joseph Erico emerged as a candidate after defeating Jibrin Isah, although the senator insisted that no election was held.
In Kebbi south, Jafar Gajere emerged as the APC candidate after Garba Maidoki resigned from the party four days before the primaries.
INCUMBENTS RETAIN DOMINANCE
The primaries also reinforced the dominance of incumbents in several states.
In Lagos, all three incumbent senators retained their tickets, including Wasiu Eshinlokun in Lagos central, Idiat Adebule in Lagos west, and Tokunbo Abiru in Lagos east.
Adebule, Ngozi Kene-Chiedu and Muheebah Dankaka are the three female senatorial candidates produced by the APC in the primaries concluded so far.
In Borno, all incumbent senators retained their tickets, including Kaka Shehu (central), Ali Ndume (south) and Tahir Monguno (north).
In short, APC returned incumbent senators in Enugu, Borno, Zamfara, Katsina, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Lagos, Ekiti and parts of Yobe, Osun, Edo, Delta and Oyo.
In Delta north, Okowa defeated Nwoko to clinch the APC ticket, while Ede Dafinone and Joel-Onowakpo Thomas retained their tickets.
In Benue north-east, Suswam defeated Udende, while Dave Padopads-Awunah unseated Zam in Benue north-west.
The APC has yet to conclude senatorial primaries in several districts across the country.
States where primaries have either not been held or remain inconclusive include Bauchi, Adamawa, Kogi, Oyo, and Taraba.
FULL LIST OF APC SENATORIAL CANDIDATES SO FAR
ABIA
Orji Uzor Kalu — Abia north
Erondu Uchenna Erondu Jr — Abia south
Emeka Atuma — Abia central
ADAMAWA
Umaru Fintiri — Adamawa north
Felix Tangwami — Adamawa south
AKWA IBOM
Godswill Akpabio — Akwa Ibom north-west
Aniekan Bassey — Akwa Ibom north-east
Ekong Sampson — Akwa Ibom south
ANAMBRA
Nelson Onubuogu — Anambra north
Kene Chiedu Ngozi Benedicta — Anambra central
Chibuogu Oraelusi — Anambra south
BAUCHI
Yakubu Abdullahi — Bauchi south
Ibrahim Baba — Bauchi north
BAYELSA
Fidelis Agbiki — Bayelsa west
Friday Kombowei Benson — Bayelsa central
Israel Sunny-Goli — Bayelsa east
BENUE
Dave Padopads-Awunah — Benue north-west
Gabriel Suswam — Benue north-east
Francis Agbo — Benue south
BORNO
Kaka Shehu — Borno central
Ali Ndume — Borno south
Tahir Monguno — Borno north
CROSS RIVER
Jarigbe Jarigbe — Cross River north
Oden Ewa — Cross River central
Asuquo Ekpenyong — Cross River south
DELTA
Ede Dafinone — Delta central
Ifeanyi Okowa — Delta north
Joel-Onowakpo Thomas — Delta south
EDO
Adams Oshiomhole — Edo north
Joseph Ikpea — Edo central
Ogbeide-Ihama Omoregie — Edo south
EKITI
Opeyemi Bamidele — Ekiti central
Cyril Fasuyi — Ekiti north
Yemi Adaramodu — Ekiti south
ENUGU
Osita Ngwu — Enugu west
Kelvin Chukwu — Enugu east
Ikeje Asogwa — Enugu north
GOMBE
Inuwa Yahaya — Gombe north
Mohammed Ahmed — Gombe central
Jerry Damara — Gombe south
IMO
Alex Mbata — Imo east
Hope Uzodimma — Imo west
Patrick Ndubueze — Imo north
JIGAWA
Babangida Hussain — Jigawa north-west
Ahmed Malam Madori — Jigawa north-east
Sani Garba — Jigawa south-west
KADUNA
Ramalan Yero — Kaduna north
Shehu Sani — Kaduna central
Sunday Katung — Kaduna south
KANO
Jibrin Barau — Kano north
Ibrahim Shekarau — Kano central
Abdulrahman Kawu — Kano south
KATSINA
Mutari Dandutse — Katsina south
Nasir Daura — Katsina north
Abdulaziz Yar’Adua — Katsina central
KEBBI
Adamu Aliero — Kebbi central
Yahaya Abdullahi — Kebbi north
Jafar Gajere — Kebbi south
KOGI
Joseph Erico — Kogi east
Yahaya Bello — Kogi central
KWARA
Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq — Kwara central
Sadiq Umar — Kwara north
Muheebah Dankaka — Kwara south
LAGOS
Wasiu Eshinlokun — Lagos central
Idiat Adebule — Lagos west
Tokunbo Abiru — Lagos east
NASARAWA
Abdullahi Sule — Nasarawa north
Faisal Shuaib — Nasarawa west
NIGER
Idris Kutigi — Niger south
Sani Musa — Niger east
Sani Bello — Niger north
OGUN
Dapo Abiodun — Ogun east
Jimoh Ojugbele — Ogun west
Shuaib Salisu — Ogun central
ONDO
Gbenga Elegbeleye — Ondo north
Taiwo Fasoranti — Ondo central
Isaacs Kekemeke — Ondo south
OSUN
Francis Fadahunsi — Osun east
Adekunle Adeogoke — Osun central
Akintunde Oyebiyi — Osun west
OYO
Remi Oseni — Oyo south
Yunus Akintunde — Oyo central
PLATEAU
David Barji — Plateau central
Simon Lalong — Plateau south
Simon Mwadkwon — Plateau north
RIVERS
Felix Obuah — Rivers west
Allwell Onyesoh — Rivers east
Barry Mwara — Rivers south-east
SOKOTO
Aliyu Wamakko — Sokoto central
Umaru Ajiya — Sokoto east
Ibrahim Danbaba — Sokoto south
TARABA
Manu Haruna — Taraba central
David Jimkuta — Taraba south
YOBE
Mai Mala Buni — Yobe east
Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan — Yobe north
Ibrahim Bomai — Yobe south
ZAMFARA
Abdulaziz Yari — Zamfara west
Ikra Bilbis — Zamfara central
Sahabi Ya’u — Zamfara north
FCT
Philip Aduda — Federal Capital Territory (FCT)
Senatorial districts not listed are either pending, inconclusive, or yet to conduct APC primaries due to internal disputes, zoning disagreements, logistical challenges and postponements.
