APC, ADC, NDC in Post-Primary Election Blues

August 10, () — With the 2027 electioneering starting on August 19, 2026, the three major political parties in the country, namely the governing All Progressives Congress, the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, are neck-deep in internal crises over the post-primary elections, a fortnight despite the fact the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, published the list of candidates for the January 16, 2026 poll.

For the APC, an Abuja Federal High Court last dramatised the new turn of events after its national scribe, Felix Morka, and the Director of Publicity, Mallam Bala Ibrahim, defended the party’s post-primary election decisions. They declared that candidate substitutions are the lawful outcome of a rigorous internal appeals process and internal reconciliation strategies.

The court ruled that the candidate for the Owo/Ose Federal Constituency of Ondo State was Abdugani Arobo. According to Justice Peter Lifu, the APC failed to make a lawful return following its House of Representatives primary election conducted on May 16, 2026 and faulted the party for forwarding Adeleye’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Justice Lifu ruled that the APC’s defence could not withstand judicial scrutiny, describing the evidence presented by the party as riddled with inconsistencies and incapable of justifying the substitution of the primary election outcome. The court directed INEC to immediately reopen its candidate nomination portal to enable the commission to upload Arobo’s name as the APC’s validly nominated candidate for the constituency.

The ruling ended months of controversy that trailed the APC primary in Owo/Ose Federal Constituency after the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) submitted Adeleye’s name to INEC, despite protests from party members and leaders in Ondo State. Arobo had approached the court, insisting that he was the rightful winner of the primary election and that the party leadership acted contrary to the result by replacing his name with Adeleye’s.

Although the party and INEC were yet to act on the ruling as of press time, the weekend statement by the National Chairman of the party, Prof. Yiltwada Nentawe, would appear to have settled the matter. Taking to his X platform at the weekend, he celebrated that the APC has successfully completed the upload of its governorship and State Assembly candidates for the 2027 elections onto the INEC Candidate Nomination Portal.

He said the party uploaded all 56 governorship and deputy governorship candidates and 1,015 State House of Assembly candidates on the INEC Candidate Nomination Portal, saying that “with this phase completed, we remain focused on our vision and engaging Nigerians with our renewed Hope Agenda for the 2027 poll,” he said.

The party also admitted that time is running out to amicably resolve the issue. Our correspondent reports that the party on Thursday moved to arrest the growing internal dissent by inaugurating a high-profile National Reconciliation Committee, chaired by renowned political economist, Prof. Pat Utomi. The NDC state chapters of the party in Adamawa, Bauchi, Kaduna and Lagos, for example, are still mired in internal crises over the primaries, forcing its leadership to unveil a committee tasked with resolving disputes arising from recent congresses and primary elections.

While inaugurating the reconciliation committee led by Prof Pat Utomi, National Chairman of the party Senator Moses Cleopas urged the members to work with speed and diligence within the short space of time before the campaigns gather steam. Engr. Buba Galadima is the co-chairman of the committee, while Mrs Dudu Manuga, the party’s National Women Leader, is the committee’s secretary.

The National Chairman disclosed that the party is currently battling allegations of bias and financial inducement following the selection of candidates. He warned that unresolved grievances have the potential to undermine the presidential bid of Mr. Peter Obi and his running mate, Dr. Musa Rabiu Kwankwaso. The committee is expected to submit its preliminary findings by August 20, just one day after the kick-off of official campaigns for the 2027 poll. Reflecting on the task ahead, Galadima admitted that reconciling aggrieved members would be “a very hard nut to crack,” and insisted, “Only one person can fly the flag of this party at a time.”

For the ADC, the brewing crises in Edo and Rivers states has raised tension among members of the party. The Rivers State crisis followed competing claims over the party’s governorship ticket for the 2027 general election. On the one hand, the Chukwudi Dimkpa–led state chapter declared Gabriel Pidomson, former Secretary to the State Government, the winner of the governorship primaries held between May 22 and 23, 2026. But Farah Dagogo, a former member of the House of Representatives who represented the Degema Federal Constituency, has rejected this verdict, insisting that he secured the nomination through a separate primary conducted on May 22 by the Rivers State Governorship Primary Electoral Committee, which was constituted by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) under the leadership of David Mark.

In the Edo State chapter of the party, the tussle over the House of Representatives ticket for Orhionmwon/Uhunmwode Federal Constituency has polarized the party, with the Bright Campaign Organisation rejecting the alleged substitution of its candidate, Egharevba Bright Osakpamwan.

Its spokesperson, Onyia Harrison, insisted that Bright remains the duly nominated candidate of the party after emerging from the ADC primary election, alleging that Bright fulfilled all the requirements for the primary, including purchasing the nomination form, paying the prescribed fees, submitting the required documents and participating in the party’s primary election.

The campaign also alleged that Deacon Festus Osaigbovo Osagie, who it said lost the NDC House of Representatives primary, subsequently sought the ADC ticket without purchasing the party’s nomination form or participating in its primary election. The reaction followed the appearance of Osaigbovo’s name and credentials on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) candidate portal, which the Bright Campaign organization described as contrary to the outcome of the ADC primary.

The organisation called on the ADC leadership and INEC to clarify the circumstances surrounding the upload of Osaigbovo’s credentials and ensure that the candidate produced through the party’s primary election is recognised. It also urged prominent ADC stakeholders, including former Edo State Governor, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Senator Ehigie Uzamere and Prof. Osariemen Osunbor, to make public records and resolutions relating to the conduct of the primary and the submission of the party’s candidate to INEC.

The campaign said it had documentary evidence, including payment receipts, nomination forms and primary election records, to support its position, adding that it would pursue all lawful means to protect what it described as Bright’s mandate. However, reacting to the controversy, Osaigbovo said the decision on who represents the ADC rests with the party and not with Bright.

gathered that aspirants of the three parties were made to sign an undertaking to respect the outcome of the primaries but became worried when those who lost made a U-turn on the agreement. The ensuing reconciliation committee may be the best option in the circumstance to reconcile aggrieved members and find a way to accommodate their grievances so that the parties can forge ahead with the more pressing needs of the upcoming 2027 election. Among sections of the Electoral Act 2026 on eligibility of party candidates, Section 33 states that changing a nominee is restricted strictly to two circumstances: the death of a candidate or a formal, voluntary withdrawal within designated timelines.