The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, and Yusuf Buhari, son of former President Muhammadu Buhari, were among prominent figures who secured tickets of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to contest the House of Representatives election in 2027.
The APC held its House of Reps primary on Saturday across the 360 federal constituencies nationwide.
Ahead of the primary, the party had disqualified 14 aspirants from contesting the primary across Ondo, Bauchi, Ebonyi, Kogi and Rivers states
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Felix Morka, disclosed the disqualifications in a statement issued on Saturday, saying the aspirants failed to scale the screening exercise conducted by the party’s screening committees.
Among those disqualified were four serving members of the House of Representatives — Iduma Igariwey from Ebonyi State, Anderson Allison and Awaji-Inombek Abiante from Rivers State, and Boma Goodhead, also from Rivers State.
Others affected included Adefisoye Tajudeen, Olusegun Ategbole, Seun Ajongbolo, Arowole Ayodeji, Morufu Ibrahim, Oseni Oyeniyi, Olaleye Adedipe, Bashir Bello, Sanni Ogembe and retired Air Commodore John Opara.
Morka stated that the screening was conducted “in line with established procedures and guidelines,” but did not state the specific reasons for the disqualifications.
In Katsina State, Yusuf won the APC primary for Sandamu/Daura/Mai’adua Federal Constituency with a landslide victory, polling 5,849 votes to defeat his closest rival, Auwal Daura, who secured 21 votes.
Party supporters in the area described the outcome as a reflection of the Buhari family’s enduring influence within the constituency and the APC structure in Katsina State.
In Lagos State, Obasa won the APC Agege Federal House of Representatives primary election unopposed.
Following his victorious outing, Obasa thanked party faithful and members for their full support while giving remarks after the election at Ward E Oyewole Primary School, Agege.
“This is another opportunity given to me by my constituents to represent them at the Federal House of Reps, and I am assuring them of more effective representation at the upper legislative chamber,” he said.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, secured the APC ticket to contest for a fifth consecutive term representing Zaria Federal Constituency in Kaduna State.
He emerged unopposed after an affirmation exercise conducted across the 13 wards in the constituency.
The APC Returning Officer for the constituency, Hamisu Kubau, announced that 1,376 delegates affirmed Abbas as the party’s candidate ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“There is only one person who bought a form, screened and was cleared. He is Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas,” Kubau declared.
The Speaker thanked party members for renewing their confidence in him.
“My best days as your representative are ahead,” Abbas said.
Also in Kaduna State, Sadiq Ango Abdullahi, son of elder statesman Ango Abdullahi, polled 920 votes to emerge victorious in his constituency’s contest.
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, secured the APC ticket to contest for another term as member representing Bende Federal Constituency of Abia State in the 2027 general elections.
He emerged unopposed during the primary held across the 13 electoral wards of the constituency.
Party leaders, ward executives and delegates unanimously endorsed Kalu for another term in the House, according to a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Press Affairs, Udora Orizu.
“The Deputy Speaker reiterated his commitment to delivering more democratic dividends, promoting inclusive governance, and advancing policies that would improve the welfare and economic opportunities of the people of Bende,” the statement said.
In Delta State, former Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu, defeated incumbent lawmaker, Ngozi Okolie, in the APC primary for Oshimili South Federal Constituency.
The exercise, conducted across wards in Asaba, was described as peaceful by party officials.
Results announced at the collation centres showed Elumelu dominating several wards, including Ward 11 where officials said Okolie failed to secure a single vote.
The Returning Officer, Kingsley Oniawa, described the process as transparent and orderly.
“There was no issue. The process was peaceful and calm,” he said.
In Ekiti State, the spokesman for the House of Representatives, Akintunde Rotimi, won the APC primary for Ikole/Oye Federal Constituency after defeating eight aspirants.
He secured victory in 22 out of the 24 wards in the constituency.
In Kogi State, incumbent lawmaker Leke Abejide swept all 34 wards in the APC primary for Yagba Federal Constituency.
Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, described the exercise as “free, fair and credible.”
In Edo State, former Commissioner for Education, Paddy Iyamu, secured the ticket for Oredo Federal Constituency, while Omosede Igbinedion emerged candidate for Ovia Federal Constituency.
The Edo APC chairman, Jarret Tenebe, described the exercise as “the freest and fairest primary election ever conducted by any political party in the state.”
Violence, protests in Kaduna, Adamawa
However, the primaries were not without controversy as violence and protests erupted in parts of Kaduna and Adamawa states.
The APC primary in Igabi Federal Constituency of Kaduna State turned violent as angry youths confronted the party chairman in the local government area, Bashir Jaji, over alleged irregularities in the exercise.
The disputed primary, contested between Sani Dakaci and Hussaini Jalo, sparked outrage among supporters who accused party officials of manipulating the process.
Eyewitnesses said the tension escalated after some party members alleged that there was no proper accreditation or counting of votes before Jalo was declared winner. A viral video circulating online showed the APC chairman being hurried into a vehicle as angry youths stormed the party office amid shouting and chaos.
One of the protesters, Musa Salihu, alleged that supporters were made to queue but were never counted.
“We lined up, but nobody counted us. Suddenly, they came out and announced Jalo as the winner. That cannot be called an election,” he said.
Another party member, Musbahu Idris, claimed supporters waited for hours expecting accreditation and voting before the result was announced without a visible process.
However, a supporter of the APC chairman, Haruna Sani, defended the process, insisting that the election was properly conducted.
“The allegation of injustice is not correct. The election was conducted properly and the winner emerged accordingly,” he said.
In Adamawa State, protests erupted across Lamurde, Numan and Demsa federal constituency over allegations that primaries were not conducted despite the announcement of results. Women and youths blocked major roads while chanting anti-party slogans and accusing party leaders of imposing candidates.
One of the aspirants, Vrati Nzonzo, alleged that no election took place in the three local governments.
“As I’m talking to you, heavy protest is ongoing in the three local governments. Some people came and started writing results of primaries that did not take place,” he claimed.
Nzonzo alleged that a personal assistant to a serving House of Representatives member was arrested by the police in possession of result sheets.
Another aspirant from Guyuk/Shelleng Federal Constituency, Haruna Daniel, also claimed that the committee arrived with a preferred candidate from Abuja and announced her as the party’s flagbearer without conducting any election.
“The committee came with a name of a woman from Abuja and announced her as the candidate of the party,” he alleged.
The former APC National Vice Chairman (North-East), Umar Duhu, admitted that there were flaws in the process but urged aggrieved aspirants to accept party supremacy.
“The President told us that we should return at least 40 per cent of old members for continuity of good legislative work,” he said.
In Benue State, late arrival and alleged hijack of election materials disrupted the primaries in several federal constituencies, including Makurdi/Guma and Gwer East/Gwer West.
The state publicity secretary of one faction of the APC, Daniel Ihomun, confirmed that election materials were hijacked in some local governments, particularly Makurdi, and also acknowledged that election materials arrived late in several distant local government areas.
In Kwara State, former Chief Press Secretary to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Rafiu Ajakaye, led incumbent lawmaker Tijani Ismail Kayode in the Ifelodun/Offa/Oyun Federal Constituency contest.
The most dramatic result emerged from Erin-Ile South Ward, the lawmaker’s home ward, where Ajakaye polled 707 votes while Kayode scored zero.
In other constituencies, Hon. Mukhtar Shagaya was reported to be leading in Ilorin West/Asa Federal Constituency, while Abdulquawiy Olododo, the state Commissioner for Works, emerged as consensus candidate in Ilorin East/South after four aspirants — Ambassador Tajudeen Ibraheem Olesin, Dr. Afeez Abolore, Hon. Babatunde Ajadi Yakubu, and Hon. Mashood Gobir — stepped down in his favour.
In Edu/Moro/Patigi Federal Constituency, Abubakar Bello Tauheed, popularly known as “Car wash,” recorded a strong lead in Tsaragi Ward 2 with 391 votes. However, an APC aspirant for the same constituency, Amasa Funmilayo Salamat, petitioned the party leadership over alleged irregularities, alleging that party membership cards were withheld from genuine members to manipulate the voting process.
“This situation has created room for manipulation and unfair practices, as party leaders control access to membership cards and decide who participates,” she said in the petition addressed to the APC National Working Committee.
In Sokoto State, the APC conducted consensus affirmations in 10 of the 11 federal constituencies. In Oyo State, the APC cleared 74 aspirants across the 14 federal constituencies for the primaries. Chairman of the National Assembly Primary Election Committee in the state, Prof. Mojeed Alabi, said the exercise was peaceful and transparent.
Despite the widespread controversies, party leaders insisted that the primaries reflected the APC’s commitment to internal democracy ahead of the 2027 general elections. However, political observers warned that unresolved grievances arising from the exercises could trigger internal crises in several states if not carefully managed by the party leadership. – Punch.
