The All Progressives Congress is battling fresh controversy ahead of the 2027 general elections as aggrieved aspirants across several states accused the party of imposing candidates, manipulating primary election results and violating internal democratic procedures during its National Assembly and state assembly primaries.
The disputes, which cut across Zamfara, Kogi, Plateau and Osun states, have triggered protests, petitions, legal threats and calls for the cancellation of the exercises, with aspirants alleging irregularities ranging from fabricated results and exclusion of cleared contestants to alleged interference by influential political figures.
Some of the aggrieved aspirants warned that the crises could undermine the party’s electoral fortunes if not urgently addressed, recalling previous instances where flawed primaries led to the nullification of APC victories by the courts.
A former governorship candidate in Zamfara State, Dr Sani Shinkafi, on Thursday wrote the national chairman of the APC, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, protesting the alleged “imposition” of Senator Sahabi Yau as the sole candidate for the Zamfara North senatorial ticket.
In the petition made available to journalists in Abuja, Shinkafi vowed to drag the party to court over his exclusion from the primaries, which he claimed was orchestrated by top political actors in the state, as well as some former and serving governors.
