Discontent is brewing again, as is usual with party primaries in Nigeria. Thus, the 2027 general elections precursor has exposed the underbelly of the country’s 27-year-old Fourth Republic and its core underpinnings – the new 2026 Electoral Act, the umpire, the parties and political actors.
Soon, the train will land at the judiciary, with a slew of pre-election litigation in tow.
Typically, primary elections mirror the main elections they precede. In hindsight, primary elections since 1999 have produced chaotic, shambolic outcomes.
The regular amendments to the Electoral Act, meant to sanitise elections, have not helped much.
From the look of things, the 2027 general elections may suffer the same fate. This is a challenge to critical stakeholders to handle the next elections with caution.
The 2026 Electoral Act allowed the parties to adopt direct primary and consensus models.
While money-sharing, rigging, vote-buying, and fraudulent vote counting marred the direct primaries, imposition, intimidation, favouritism, and political settlement made matters worse across the states.
Money-sharing was taken to ridiculous levels during the primaries, while vote-buying went unpunished.
At best, the contests delivered primaries of bitterness and cash-and-carry fraud.
There were video clips of money sharing in Borno State involving a senator, who distributed N135 million to APC state executives. A House of Representatives member shared N26 million among the APC 442 executives in the state.
The Chairman of the NDC, Seriake Dickson, admitted the discontent among contestants after the party’s primaries but promised to address it.
In the states where “consensus” was adopted, intimidation was prevalent. Aspirants claimed they were prevailed upon to step down and were promised cabinet or board positions and a return of their election costs.
Unfortunately, the EFCC, the ICPC and the police looked the other way as the corrupt practices raged.
The Electoral Act prescribes a N5 million fine and a 10-year ban from elective office for vote-buying, among other amendments.
Nigeria has refused to learn from the dire effects of huge money sharing during elections.
For Nigeria’s democracy to find true meaning, there must be stringent efforts to contain mindless spending during elections to reduce corruption and poor governance.
The 2026 primaries even paraded aspirants standing trial for corrupt practices while in office.
One, Saleh Mamman, a former minister of power, was sentenced to 75 years imprisonment for N33 billion fraud concerning the Mambilla hydropower project while pursuing a governorship ticket.
In the Delta North Senatorial District, the immediate past Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, who was arrested by the EFCC in 2024 for diverting N1.3 trillion, won. Ex-Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, who is also standing trial for alleged N110.4 billion, won the APC primary election massively in Kogi Central.
In sane democracies, such allegations cost political careers. King Charles III stripped a prince, his own brother, Andrew Mountbatten, of his privileges after he (Mountbatten) was accused of associating with a paedophile, Jeffrey Epstein.
In Nigeria, the primaries were riddled with violence and killings. One person was killed in Plateau, Lagos, and Kaduna states, while numerous people were wounded.
An INEC official was abducted, and voting materials were carted away by thugs at the ADC primary election at Yakurr LGA of Cross River State on May 22. The INEC official was later rescued by troops.
Thugs disrupted elections in many parts of Lagos, including Mushin LGA, Alimoso LGA, Shafejo, and Ajeromi-Ifelodun areas of the state during the primaries. The Lagos State Police Command announced the arrest of 10 suspects during the APC primary elections in Egbe.
In a bizarre novelty, the primary elections witnessed huge violence against women. Womanifesto, a coalition of over 250 women, alleged intimidation, violence and attacks against women across the country.
Another weird novelty is the dual-party engagements by presidential candidates and sponsors. The Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, who officially belongs to the PDP, sponsored a presidential candidate, Sandy Onor, in the party and also backed the APC governorship candidate in Rivers State, Kingsley Chinda.
In like manner, Makinde emerged as an APM candidate while still retaining his position as the governor of Oyo State under the umbrella of the PDP and actively involved in the party’s activities.
As expected, President Bola Tinubu won the APC presidential primaries by a landslide against a joker of an opponent; the governors seeking a second term, and the preferred candidates of outgoing governors won the primaries except for Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, who withdrew “in the interest of peace and the state.”
The APC’s presidential primary results were instructive. While Tinubu recorded about nine million in the 2023 general elections, he scored 10.9 million in the primary election.
Of the 22 registered political parties, 12 had produced presidential candidates as of May 31.
The PDP produced the Tanimu Turaki-backed Goodluck Jonathan and the Wike-sponsored candidate, Sandy Onor.
In the ADC, the David Mark faction produced Atiku Abubakar, the Dumebi Kachikwu faction produced Kachikwu, while the Bala Gombe faction produced Chris Uba.
Two candidates, Adewole Adebayo of the Shehu Gabam-led faction and Abimbola Kazeem, won the SDP presidential primaries.
The presidential candidates of the other parties are Omoyele Sowore, AAC; Peter Obi, NDC; Seyi Makinde, APM; Aliyu Bin Abass, ADP; Chibuzor Okereke, Labour Party; Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, Accord; and Donald Duke, PRP.
Some of the presidential elections appeared contentious and inconclusive. Accord disowned Olawepo-Hashim’s candidacy two days after the results were announced, insisting the party never conducted any presidential primaries nor produced a candidate.
Following the directive of the Supreme Court to the ADC to return to the Federal High Court in respect of its subsisting leadership tussle for accelerated hearing, the fate of the Mark-backed Abubakar and that of Kachikwu as presidential candidates will depend on the outcome of the ruling.
Meanwhile, Atiku’s co-contestants, Rotimi Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen Mohammed, have rejected the elections on the grounds of fraud and other irregularities. Atiku has, however, visited the duo to offer the olive branch.
The Rivers State governorship election also suffered a setback on account of a court ruling. The Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt nullified the Tony Okocha-led executives that produced the Wike-backed governorship candidate and other candidates earlier pronounced winners of the APC primaries in the state and reinstated the Emeka Beke faction executives.
The primaries were victims of court rulings arising from the INEC regulations regarding timelines for submitting a list of aspirants and the right of failed candidates to defect to another party.
The contradictory rulings of two Federal High Courts on the right of failed aspirants to defect and contest elections in another party have provided a window for such candidates to jump ship.
The immediate Vice-President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege, left the APC with his supporters for the NDC.
The high rate of disqualification of candidates during the screening exercise preceding the primaries resulted in protests and defections. The APC disqualified 47 from senatorial contests, and the Nafiu Gombe faction of the ADC disqualified 212 aspirants.
Two political parties adopted the candidate of the ruling APC, Tinubu, as their presidential candidate. APGA adopted Tinubu as its presidential candidate outright. The LP fielded Chibuzor Okereke, but has an unwritten agreement to vote for Tinubu in 2022 in a manner reminiscent of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria arrangement when it fielded Nuhu Ribadu for president but voted for President Goodluck Jonathan.
Reports say 70 or 21 per cent of the 330 APC legislators in the National Assembly did not return. Also, former governors and senators, including Gbenga Daniel, Ibikunle Amosun, and Rochas Okorocha, lost their elections.
In Ondo State, six of the nine House of Representatives members lost their return tickets.
All this indicates that there is no alternative to good governance and observance of the law.
The primaries expose the limits of money politics at the expense of building a strong grassroots base.
An aspirant in the House of Representatives primaries in Imo State, Cubana Chief Priest (real name Paschal Okechukwu), expressed disappointment with the elders in his constituency, alleging, “I know how much I took care of them, yet only 14 people voted for me in the primary.”
Olamilekan Adeola, representing Ogun West Senatorial District, was rewarded with the position of APC consensus candidate for the Ogun State governorship election for reportedly facilitating and spearheading projects there.
Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan was rewarded with the PDP return ticket for Kogi Central Senatorial District by her constituents over her numerous projects across critical sectors. Her ticket symbolises the revolt of her constituents against her unjust suspension from the Senate and their denial of representation for six months.
But mass turnout and the policing of election results are the only antidotes to the antics of the political class in the 2027 general elections.
For now, the drama around 2027 continues to unfold.
