APC Rules Out Review Of 2027 Primary Results

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has finalised its list of candidates for the 2027 general elections and ruled out any review of its recently concluded primaries despite petitions and protests by aggrieved aspirants.

Findings by Punch revealed that the ruling party had concluded work on the results submitted to its national secretariat and was preparing to upload the names of successful candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal.

The development effectively shuts the door on fresh appeals and demands for fresh primaries by members who alleged manipulation and imposition during the exercise.

A principal official of the party and another member of the National Working Committee (NWC) said the APC had not altered and was not considering reviewing the results of the primaries.

The principal official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “We are not reviewing the results of the primaries. The timeline for primaries and appeals has already elapsed. We are waiting for the code to upload the results of the winners of the primaries.

“Everything has been concluded. We don’t know anything about the review they are talking about.”

INEC has fixed June 26 for the release of access codes to its nomination portal and July 11 as the deadline for the submission of candidates’ particulars for the 2027 general elections.

Lawmakers Lose Tickets

No fewer than 54 serving federal lawmakers, including ranking senators and members of the House of Representatives, failed to secure return tickets during the APC primaries held between May 16 and 18.

Many aggrieved aspirants, particularly those who lost out in Lagos, Delta, Zamfara, Kogi, Rivers, Plateau and Osun states, have lodged petitions, threatened legal action and demanded fresh primaries.

Asked about reports submitted by the party’s primary election appeal panels, the APC chieftain said the appeals did not significantly alter the outcome of the primaries.

He said, “From what I have seen, the appeal reports didn’t make any significant changes to the primary results because a lot of the petitions were found to be frivolous.

“But any appeal that was well made would have been considered. Some of the appeals are talking about zoning issues, which are pre-primary matters.

“Some are talking about clearance, that somebody did not properly resign from the PDP before joining the APC. Is that a basis to challenge our primaries? Those are examples of frivolous issues people raised in their petitions.”

Party Awaits INEC Code

The party official said most constituencies did not record appeals after the primaries.

He added, “There are 109 senatorial districts and 360 House of Representatives constituencies, with thousands of House of Assembly seats. I can tell you that there is no appeal in the majority of these constituencies.

“So, where is the primary review report coming from? The results to be announced may not be different from what has already been known.”