•Rivers, Edo, Bayelsa, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Benue, Cross River, Kano take centre stage
Philip Eke, Yenagoa
As the All Progressives Congress,APC prepares for the 2027 general elections, internal tensions over candidate selection have erupted across multiple states, threatening the party’s cohesion and its ability to present a united front at the polls.
From Edo to Kano, Benue to Cross River, Kaduna, Nasarawa and Bayelsa, the battle between party structures and aspirants over how candidates will emerge has created fault lines that party leaders are scrambling to manage.
Edo: Alleged imposition threatens free, fair primaries
In Edo State, the alleged imposition of candidates has emerged as the most combustible issue confronting the state chapter of the APC. Many aspirants who have already purchased and submitted their forms, and who are undergoing screening at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, have reportedly been instructed to abandon their ambitions and stand down in favour of handpicked candidates.
The situation has alarmed sitting lawmakers, including Marcus Onobun, member representing Esan Central, Esan West and Igueben in the House of Representatives, who rejected what he described as premature endorsement, calling it democratically unacceptable.
He argued that any attempt to short-circuit the process contradicted the progressive ideals of the party and amounted to a clear violation of due process.
“If this contest is truly about popularity, grassroots acceptance and political weight, let all aspirants walk freely through the streets of Esan West, Esan Central and Igueben. The people will organically identify who truly commands their confidence,” he said.
Benue: SGF, governor at odds over Automatic tickets
In Benue State, the APC is yet to agree on the form of primaries to adopt, owing to a disagreement between the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, and Governor Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia.
At a peace and reconciliation meeting on 3 May 2026 in Makurdi, Akume announced that President Tinubu had directed automatic tickets for all elective candidates in the state.
Governor Alia contradicted this flatly, stating that both the National Chairman and the President had declared there would be no automatic ticket for any candidate.
The North Central Zonal Vice Chairman, Mu’azu Rijau, sought to project unity, affirming that direct primaries would be adopted in Benue State. The contradiction between Akume and Alia has nonetheless deepened the crisis, with factional groups yet to reach a conclusive resolution.
Cross River: Key figures defect as
Power play intensifies
Three prominent APC figures have defected in Cross River State ahead of the 2027 elections, signalling growing unease over candidate selection for legislative seats.
Incumbent member representing Abi/Yakurr Federal Constituency, Chief Alex Egbona, has resigned from the APC and rejoined the Peoples Democratic Party to contest a third term.
Also resigning are former governorship aspirant John Upan Odey Junior and former House of Representatives hopeful Prince KJ Jedy-Agba, both from Obudu Local Government Area.
Further defections are anticipated, with sources naming federal lawmakers Bassey Akiba, Emil Inyang, Mike Etaba and Godwin Offiono as those whose tenures face challenge from internal power play.
Kaduna Central: Zailani, Shettima reject consensus plot for Shehu Sani
In Kaduna State, the endorsement of former Senator Shehu Sani as the consensus candidate for Kaduna Central Senatorial District has provoked sharp resistance from key stakeholders and rival aspirants.
The camp of former Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Yusuf Ibrahim Zailani, dismissed the endorsement as failing to reflect the genuine wishes of party members, insisting through campaign director Musa Aliyu Khalid that political decisions must not be imposed on the people.
Another aspirant, Yerima Shettima, described the consensus arrangement as undemocratic and politically motivated, warning it could destabilise the APC in Kaduna Central and weaken the party’s prospects in 2027.
He called for direct primaries as the only mechanism capable of guaranteeing fairness. Supporters of the endorsement, including commissioners and party leaders, cited Shehu Sani’s record as a former senator and his political influence across the district, but the competing claims have left the ticket in a state of unresolved contest.
Nasarawa: Governor’s preferred Candidates spark broad resistance
In Nasarawa State, political tensions are mounting within the APC following alleged moves by Governor Abdullahi Sule and key party stakeholders to influence the emergence of consensus candidates at multiple levels ahead of the 2027 primaries.
At the centre of the unfolding calculations is the reported endorsement of Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada as Governor Sule’s preferred successor for the governorship.
The move has generated significant resistance among rival aspirants, particularly former Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu Abubakar and Engineer MS Haruna, both of whom are reportedly determined to contest the primaries rather than accept an imposed arrangement. Political observers describe the contest as a major power struggle within the Nasarawa APC.
The disagreement has extended to the National Assembly tickets. In Nasarawa South Senatorial District, the APC leadership is widely believed within party circles to be favouring incumbent Deputy Governor Dr Emmanuel Akabe for the senatorial seat.
The development is expected to trigger a contest with former House of Representatives member Abubakar Nalaraba, who recently purchased the senatorial nomination form after reportedly shelving his governorship ambition at the persuasion of party leaders aligned with the governor.
Despite the reported understanding, Nalaraba’s supporters are insisting the ticket must be decided through direct primaries.
In Nasarawa West Federal Constituency, tension is building between House of Assembly Speaker Danladi Jatau and Daniel Oga Ogazi, a fellow member from the same zone and local government area, with Jatau believed to enjoy the backing of influential party figures as part of wider arrangements to reward loyal allies.
In Nasarawa North Senatorial District, former Deputy Governor Silas Ali Agara has openly declared interest in the Senate seat and repeatedly stated he will not step down for any aspirant or arrangement, insisting on transparent primaries.
The contest pits him directly against forces aligned with Governor Sule, deepening the sense of a party pulled in competing directions across the state.
Party leaders insist consultations are ongoing and no final decisions have been reached, but many aspirants at the grassroots remain wary of alleged attempts to install candidates through consensus rather than open competition.
Kano: Consensus model sparks disputes, street protests
In Kano State, the consensus model has generated significant disputes and protests, with at least two senatorial tickets drawing particular controversy.
In Kano North, a fierce contest between incumbent Deputy Senate President Barau, Jibrin and former Housing Minister Abdullahi T. Gwarzo was resolved in Barau’s favour only after former Governor Ibrahim Shekarau intervened to mediate. Gwarzo remains aggrieved and unconsoled.
In Kano Central, the ticket was awarded to Shekarau, who had defected to the APC barely a month before receiving it, fuelling speculation that his defection had been facilitated by a promise of the ticket.
The award shattered the hopes of longstanding party member Abdulsalam Abdulkarim Zaura, whose supporters subsequently staged a street protest in Kano metropolis calling on President Tinubu to intervene.
In response to the broader tensions, Kano APC chairman Haruna Doguwa announced the inauguration of a peace and reconciliation committee to manage the disputes and restore internal cohesion.
Bayelsa: Mode of primary remains unresolved
In Bayelsa State, the APC faces a dilemma over its choice of primary mode. Governor Senator Douye Diri set up special screening committees to score aspirants and recommend consensus candidates, but the process has been undermined by accusations that some committee members used their positions to settle personal scores, with qualified aspirants allegedly assigned poor ratings.
Some affected aspirants have vowed to challenge the screening reports in court.
A further complication has arisen in Bayelsa East, where the Senate seat rotates between Ogbia, Brass and Nembe local government areas.
Incumbent Senator Sunday Benson Agadaga from Ogbia is lobbying to return despite his zone’s slot having been exhausted, reportedly with the backing of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who is said to be placing Diri under significant pressure.
Stakeholders in Bayelsa East have fiercely resisted the move, insisting the zoning arrangement must be honoured. With most aspirants unwilling to step down, the APC in Bayelsa is expected to resolve its candidate selection largely through direct primaries.
Rivers: Rainbow coalition shapes political terrain
In Rivers State, the dynamics of candidate selection are unlike those in any other state in this survey, shaped less by internal party procedures and more by the extraordinary political arrangement that now governs the state.
A formidable alliance codenamed the Rainbow Coalition, comprising both the PDP and the APC under the leadership of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, controls the dominant political structures in the state, including the House of Assembly and the local government areas.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara, who defected from the PDP to the APC in December 2025, occupies a conspicuously weak position within the party structure in his own state.
Despite reportedly pushing for a second term in 2027 and having endorsed 32 loyalists for State Assembly seats, Fubara has not formally declared his intention to contest.
Also Read:Rivers Assembly:APC screening committee clears 33,disqualifies 65 aspirants
Obi running away from party primaries-Onanuga
A delegation of Rivers APC stakeholders recently purchased and presented his Expression of Interest and Nomination forms, and he is understood to be undergoing screening, yet no public declaration has been made to Rivers people.
The political reality in Rivers is stark. The Rainbow Coalition, firmly under Wike’s direction, will produce its own consensus governorship candidate. Fubara and whoever he has endorsed are widely expected to find themselves outside that arrangement.
The contest in Rivers State not primarily one of competing aspirants within a party primary but of two rival political structures, one with institutional control and one with the governorship, each seeking to determine the outcome of the 2027 race on its own terms.
APC National Secretary Ajibola Basiru dismissed concerns as fiction, though a National Working Committee member privately acknowledged the party was managing the situation carefully.
Taken together, the turbulence across these states presents a ruling party managing serious internal grievances on multiple fronts simultaneously, with the 2027 general elections drawing steadily closer.
