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.