May 24, (THEWILL) — As the governing All Progressives Congress, APC, concluded plans to formally declare the results of its just – concluded primaries for the 2027 General Election, allegations of intimidation, rigging, imposition of candidates and manipulation have continued to trail the exercise. The allegations have been louder in the National Assembly and governorship primaries. According to the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Felix Morka, the results will be released at the appropriate time. He called on members and supporters to remain calm and await the release of the authentic results by the National Working Committee, NWC.
Observers say that lack of transparency and due process in managing the entire process could lead to implosion of the party in the coming days.
In Delta state, Senator Ned Nwoko at the week formally rejected the result of the senatorial primary held in Delta State on May 18, 2026.
Speaking on his behalf, his legal adviser, Chris Okobah, insisted that Nwoko won the contest in which he contested against former governor of the state, Ifeanyi Okowa.
In the result by the Governorship and National Assembly Committee, Okowa was declared the winner of the Delta North APC senatorial primary after polling 113,309 votes to defeat Senator Ned Nwoko and Maryam Ali, who reportedly secured 2,612 and 40 votes, respectively.
Addressing a press conference at the weekend in Abuja, Okobah dismissed the result and said that Senator Nwoko won with a wide margin with 123,000 votes, while Dr Ifeanyi Okowa secured only about 5,000 votes. He disclosed that the senator’s camp had video evidence, agents’ reports, and ward-level records from all 98 wards in the senatorial district to support its claims to make a strong appeal to the national leadership of the party.
Similarly, Momoh Yusuf Obaro, an aspirant for Kogi Central APC Senatorial seat has raised a petition to the Appeal Committee Chairman for nullification of the results.
Chief Obaro in his petition made available to journalists in Lokoja, alleged gross irregularities, violence, unlawful candidacy, and falsification of results. Obaro in his formal petition submitted to the National Working Committee is also challenging the integrity, conduct, and declared outcomes of the Kogi Central Senatorial Primary Election held on May 18, 2026.
He alleged that the exercise was completely subverted by severe procedural breaches, a total lack of stakeholder engagement, “widespread violence against our agents” and the participation of an unqualified candidate.
He said , “despite the chaos and the subsequent abandonment of collation centres by officials, our 114 polling agents successfully documented and verified the actual votes cast across the five (5) Local Government Areas. Certified True Summary of Votes Cast:. Chief Momoh Yusuf Obaro 44,270; H.E. Yahaya Bello 20,092 and Mallam Ibrahim Yakubu Adoke 1,985.”
In Edo State the Oba of Benin, Ewuare II, had to intervene in the crisis generated by the senatorial result by calling the warring aspirants to order. He called for an immediate ceasefire among political actors involved in the Edo South APC senatorial primary eligibility dispute. Two aspirants for the Edo Central Constituency, Osaze Ize-Iayamu and Omoregie Ogbeide are laying claim to victory in the primaries.
The Oba made the appeal at the weekend while receiving APC aspirant Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama and party leaders at his palace in Benin City. The delegation to the palace was led by Edo Deputy Governor, Dennis Idahosa, and former Deputy Governor, Pius Odubu. Edo APC Chairman, Jarett Tenebe, and other party leaders also accompanied the delegation to the historic Benin royal palace.
He told the delegation that God would ultimately determine the final outcome of the contested Edo South senatorial primary dispute in due course.
Earlier, Ogbeide-Ihama presented his result sheet, insisting the APC national leadership had not issued a certificate of return to any declared winner.
He claimed the national party’s records indicated he won the Edo South senatorial primary election by a wide and decisive margin.
Ogbeide-Ihama said that as a son of the soil, he had come to formally pledge loyalty to the Oba and seek prayers for peace.
He added that he was awaiting the final verdict of the party’s highest decision-making organ on the disputed primary outcome.
Former Minister of Power and governorship aspirant of the party Adebayo Adelabu, at the weekend rejected the outcome of the party’s governorship primary election in Oyo State, alleging widespread irregularities as Senator Sharafadeen Alli reportedly won with a landslide.
Adelabu, who spoke in Ibadan on Friday, described the conduct of the primary election across the state as deeply flawed and lacking transparency, insisting that the exercise was neither free, fair, nor credible.
He alleged that the process was marred by gross misconduct, including infractions in several wards and the commencement of voting hours ahead of the officially approved time.
The former minister expressed dissatisfaction with the conduct of the exercise in different parts of the state, maintaining that reports reaching his camp indicated that electoral officials failed to adhere strictly to the party’s guidelines during the primary.
According to him, the alleged irregularities undermined the integrity of the exercise and cast doubt on the credibility of the results. Adelabu further vowed to submit formal petitions to the national leadership of the APC over what he described as widespread violations across the five geopolitical zones of Oyo State.
He stated that the complaints were not limited to Ibadan alone, stressing that the party leadership must investigate the conduct of the exercise in order to protect internal democracy and maintain the confidence of party members ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
Despite rejecting the process, Adelabu secured a commanding victory at Ward 9 in Ibadan South-East Local Government Area, where he polled 430 votes to defeat Senator Alli, who garnered three votes in the ward.
As of press time, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, the lawmaker representing Oyo South in the National Assembly, was declared winner of the governorship ticket in Oyo State. He swept the direct primary election held across the 33 local government areas, polling a total of 578,143 votes. His closest rival was Senator Abdulfatai Buhari who polled 37,265 while the former minister scored 19,193 votes.
In Ondo, a House of Representatives aspirant, Simi Fajemirokun Ajayi decried the manner the primary was conducted despite the readiness of members to follow the voting procedure democratically. She condemned the flagrant violation of the process by “some elements in the party who knew what they wanted and yet had to pretend to conduct a primary.” She said she has forwarded her evidence of the flawed process to the national leadership and awaits their positive response to remedy.
In Benue, a governorship candidate, Jeffrey Kuranum said there was no voting during the governorship primaries. What happened, according to him, was allocation of votes, predetermined to favour the emergence of Governor Hyacinth Alia, as winner.
Restating the official position of the party on the release of results for all the primaries including the National Assembly, State Assemblies and the governorship, National Secretary of the APC, Senator Ajibola Basiru, told a national newspaper that the ruling party is yet to release any official results from the concluded primaries until it hears from the election appeal committee.
He said, “Ignore anything you read or hear outside the party. For now, everything is still at the appeal stage. Anybody doing or saying anything else is just doing drama.”
Meanwhile, the party has already approved the election of the Alli as its candidate in Oyo state, thus shutting out the protest by the former Minister of Power.
Felix Ifijeh is a journalist with years of professional reporting experience. Known for his keen news sense, compelling storytelling and commitment to accurate, impactful reporting, he has built a reputation for turning leads into clear, engaging, and well-structured reports that resonate with readers. His work reflects deep newsroom experience and a commitment to accurate, impactful journalism.
