The APC has announced the rescheduling of the Governorship Primary Elections in Bauchi and Kwara States to Friday.
Its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, in a statement said the party has also approved the rescheduling of the State House of Assembly primary elections for Maradun I and Maradun II Constituencies in Zamfara State to Sunday, May 24, 2026.
“The All Progressives Congress (APC) hereby announces the rescheduling of the Governorship Primary Elections in Bauchi and Kwara States to Friday, May 22, 2026.
“Similarly, the party has approved the rescheduling of the State House of Assembly Primary Elections for Maradun I and Maradun II Constituencies in Zamfara State to Sunday, May 24, 2026.
“The decision was approved by the National Working Committee (NWC) following consultations with relevant stakeholders and in furtherance of the party’s commitment to ensuring transparent, orderly, peaceful, and credible primary election process.”
Meanwhile, a few hours to the commencement of the postponed primary in Kwara State, eight more aspirants, have stepped down from the race.
The aspirants consequently threw their weights behind the anointed aspirant of the state governor, Ambassador Yahaya Serieki, leaving the contest amongst, Senator Saliu Mustapha, Alhaji Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa (BOB), Engineer Femi Sanni (Araba), and Serieki.
Those who pulled out from the race included Dr. Salako MuyideenOluwatoyin, Captain Ahmad Mahmoud, Professor Wale Sulaiman, Dr. Mohammed Omar Bio, Dr. Toyin Alabi, Hajia Aisha Ahman Patigi, Senator Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe, and the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon. Yakubu Salihu Danladi.
Earlier, Senator Sadiq Umar, and director-general of National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Professor Abubakar Sulaimanhad announced their withdrawal from the race.
In another development, the youngest female legislator and member representing Owode/Onire State Constituency at the Kwara State House of Assembly, Hon. Rukayat Shittu, has secured a second term ticket.
Shittu defeated her only cleared challenger, Sulyman Ayegun, to clinch the party’s ticket.
Party officials and observers described the exercise as keenly contested, with Shittu’s emergence reflecting strong support within party ranks ahead of the general election.
Plateau Primaries Trigger Uproar as Aggrieved Aspirants Petition Appeal C’ttee
Aggrieved APC aspirants in Plateau State have submitted a series of petitions to the National Assembly Appeal Committee over what they described as the most flawed primary election ever conducted in the state.
According to documents and testimonies presented to the committee, nine petitions arose from the Senate primaries and eight from the House of Representatives contests.
Speaking on behalf of the aggrieved National Assembly aspirants, Senator Diket Plang, representing Plateau Central, told journalists that no valid senatorial primary election was conducted in several federal constituencies.
He alleged that in places where voting began, the process was abruptly halted, manipulated, or replaced with “allocated results.”
“For someone to sit and allocate 1,423 votes to me as a sitting senator, when my ward alone has over 2,000 registered party members, is blackmail and unacceptable,” Plang said, insisting that the process violated the Electoral Act and APC guidelines.
He argued that the party’s directive for direct primaries where all registered members vote was ignored, replaced instead by opaque procedures, missing accreditation, absent agents, and results that appeared only on social media.
Plang further accused unnamed party officials of misusing the name of the President to impose preferred candidates, describing such claims as “lies and blackmail.”
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Gyang Zi, a former aspirant for the Plateau North Senatorial ticket, has withdrawn from the race and issued a N10 billion demand notice to the APC.
In a letter addressed to the APC National Chairman, Zi said he was shocked to discover his name listed among “not cleared” aspirants on the party’s official social media handle on the morning of the primary without explanation.
Although the post was later deleted, Zi said the damage had already been done.
He is demanding: refund of nomination forms N20 million, refund of state processing fee N2 million, compensation for campaign expenses N60 million, damages for defamation N10 billion and a formal written apology.
Also submitting a petition, Hon. John Dafwan, member representing Shendam/Qua’an Pan/Mikang Federal Constituency, said the primaries were marred by procedural violations, lack of transparent collation, and in some cases, complete absence of voting.
He cited Shendam LGA, where he said no election took place, yet results were mysteriously produced.
“If something did not take place, it did not take place. You cannot allocate votes for an election that never happened,” Dafwan said.
Nwoko’s Group Faults APC Primary Election, Seeks Okowa’sDisqualification
The Campaign Organisation of Senator Ned Nwoko has picked holes in the conduct of the May 18 APC Senatorial primary election in Delta North, alleging non-compliance with the directive of the National Working Committee of the party.
In a statement, the Director General of the Campaign Organisation, Hon. Samuel Ekene Kerry, accused Dr. Okowa of “gross violation” of party directives and called for his immediate disqualification from the senatorial primary process.
The statement alleged that the former Governor “connived with elements within the primaries conducting panel” to orchestrate what it described as an “illegal declaration” of himself as winner of the Delta North Senatorial Primary Election, despite clear directives from the APC National Leadership that no results were to be officially announced until proper collation and verification had been completed by the National Working Committee (NWC) in Abuja.
According to the Campaign Organisation, “the APC National OrganisingSecretary and the Office of the National Chairman had expressly instructed that all results from the National Assembly Direct Primaries must pass through established verification procedures before any declaration could be made.
“The directive was unequivocal, unambiguous, and binding on all aspirants, electoral committees, and stakeholders.”
The Nwoko camp insisted that authentic ward-by-ward results allegedly showed Senator Ned Nwoko as the rightful winner of the primary election, adding that the Senator and his supporters deliberately refrained from making premature declarations out of respect for party supremacy and internal democratic processes.
IGP Assures Electoral Stakeholders of Peaceful, Free, Fair, Credible Poll in Ekiti
The Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has reaffirmed the commitment of the Nigeria Police Force, in collaboration with other security agencies under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), to ensure a peaceful, secure, free, and credible governorship election in Ekiti State.
According to the Police, comprehensive deployment plans and operational strategies have already been concluded across the state’s 16 Local Government Areas, 154 wards and more than 2,400 polling units, with personnel and operational assets strategically positioned to guarantee the safety of voters, electoral officials, observers and other participants in the electoral process.
In a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Anthony Placid, the IGP assured stakeholders that the Nigeria Police Force would remain professional and impartial throughout the election period.
He also urged political actors to abide by the Peace Accord and conduct their activities peacefully.
The statement further encouraged residents of Ekiti State to freely exercise their constitutional rights without fear, assuring them of adequate security before, during and after the election.
Reiterating the Force’s commitment to the protection of democratic values and maintenance of public order, the statement noted the peace deal signed by all the actors.
“The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, on Thursday, 21st May 2026, attended the Election Stakeholders’ Meeting and Signing of the Peace Accord ahead of the forthcoming Ekiti State Governorship Election held in Ado-Ekiti, where he reaffirmed the readiness of the Nigeria Police Force to ensure a peaceful, secure, free, and credible electoral process across the State.
“The event brought together key electoral and political stakeholders including representatives of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the National Peace Committee led by former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, (Rtd), political parties, candidates, traditional rulers, civil society groups, security agencies, religious leaders, and members of the diplomatic and observer community,” he said
The IGP commended the Independent National Electoral Commission and the National Peace Committee for sustaining initiatives aimed at promoting peaceful democratic participation and strengthening public confidence in the electoral process.
He particularly acknowledged the leadership and continued commitment of former Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar, to peace, national unity and democratic stability in the country.
ThisDay Correspondents
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