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APC primaries: Resign or face court action – North-Central Forum tells National Chair, Yilwatda

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The North-Central All Progressives Congress, APC, Forum has issued a two-week ultimatum to the party’s National Chairman, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, to resign over what it described as the monetization of the just concluded primary elections.

The Forum specifically blamed the Yilwatda-led APC National Working Committee, NWC, for the crisis and controversy trailing the State Assembly, National Assembly, governorship and presidential primaries of the ruling party.

Results were upturned to favour those who danced to the tune of party officials while in several cases, aspirants who were set to win primary elections were screened out, the Forum alleged in a statement released on Friday by its National Chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga.

During the primaries, the North-Central APC Forum had raised the alarm over what it termed shoddy conduct of the exercise, saying that the process has been commercialised by party officials. The Forum also claimed that more than 50 percent of APC members are not satisfied with the manner the primaries were being conducted.

Highlighting its observations on Friday, following the conclusion of the primaries, the North-Central APC Forum said the national chairman and members of his executive committee should be held to account for flouting party rules.

The Forum warned that it would drag the national chairman to court if he fails to resign by June 12, when the country will mark the 2026 Democracy Day.

“We are issuing a two-week ultimatum to the national chairman to resign because of incompetence, violation of the party’s constitution, monetization of the just concluded party primaries and changing the results when it favoured those perceived as not in his camp. 

“We have it on good authority that the national chairman and his team used their position to change the results and influence the outcome of primary elections across the country,” the statement said.

Justifying its claim that the outcome of the primaries was manipulated in several cases, the APC group pointed to alleged discrepancies in party official records and the number of votes recorded for President Bola Tinubu in the presidential primary election. 

Chairman of the APC Presidential Primary Election Committee, former Senate President Pius Anyim announced that Tinubu won with a total number of 10,999,162 votes to defeat his challenger, Mr Stanley Osifo, who got 16,503 votes.

The announced result has stirred controversy following suggestions that figures used for the primaries were inflated. 

The APC Forum, in the statement, argued that the fact that figures released by the committee did not tally with official party data shows that officials manipulated the outcome of the primaries.

“We are concerned that the NWC under the national chairman did not tally the official data of the party with the presidential primary election. The party has eight million registered voters but when they released the result of Mr President in the presidential primary they wrote more than 10 million votes. 

“The guidelines stated that only those that are registered are going to vote. So this means that, all over the country, what they did was selection of candidates, not election,” the statement said. 

The Forum further lamented that the party has been weakened as a result of the controversy trailing the primaries, with several key members resigning to join other political parties over perceived injustice.

A former Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, is the latest party chieftain to resign while protesting his loss in the Delta Central senate primary. He has since moved to the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, and has, reportedly, been given a waiver to contest the senatorial election.

The North-Central APC Forum also pointed out that the national chairman’s former Chief of Staff, Mustapha Bala Dawaki, resigned from the party in protest after losing the return ticket of the Dawakin Kudu/Warawa Constituency of Kano State. Dawaki also moved to the NDC. 

“It is because of these infractions that we are asking the national chairman to resign before two weeks, or we will sue him to court. If after that two weeks he refuses to resign we will start a court process and we will present evidence of monetization of the party primaries and reducing the value of the party which is why key members are complaining of injustice and leaving the APC for other parties.

“It is clear that the national chairman does not have the experience to settle the grievances that are arising from the primary elections. They sent people that lack the necessary political experience to the states to conduct the primaries, which is why we are witnessing all these problems,” the statement added. 




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Lagos APC picks Sonayon-James as Hamzat’s running mate

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Lagos APC picks Sonayon-James as Hamzat’s running mate

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has named Damilola Sonayon-James as Lagos deputy governorship candidate for the 2027 general elections.

Sonayon-James, who hails from Badagry, will be the running mate to Dr Obafemi Hamzat.

Princess Sonayon-James is a politician, sustainability specialist, and business leader, widely recognised for her grassroots mobilisation and advocacy for women’s empowerment.

She serves as the Deputy State Chairman of the APC in Lagos State.

She rose to prominence as the State Assistant Woman Leader and was later elevated to the role of Deputy State Chairman of the APC in Lagos State. She has also served as a Supervisory Councillor for Agriculture and Social Services in Badagry West LCDA.

Sonayon-James holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, LAUTECH, and a degree in Business and Human Resources Management from the University of Hull in the UK.

She has built a dynamic career in human resources, logistics, and sustainability, operating as CEO of DGS Chauffeurs & Logistics.

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2027 Presidency: Peter Obi picks Kwankwaso as running mate

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2027 Presidency: Peter Obi picks Kwankwaso as running mate

By Emmanuel Okogba

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has named former Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso as his running mate for the 2027 presidential election.

Obi announced the decision on Saturday shortly after he was officially confirmed as the party’s presidential candidate ahead of the general election.

The announcement followed the NDC’s presidential primary, where Obi emerged as the party’s flagbearer.

Obi and Kwankwaso recently joined the NDC after leaving the African Democratic Congress (ADC), citing internal disagreements and prolonged legal disputes within their former party.

The emergence of the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket is expected to alter the dynamics of the 2027 presidential race by bringing together two influential opposition politicians with strong support bases in different parts of the country.

Obi is widely regarded as popular among young voters and enjoys significant support in the South-East and parts of the South-South, while Kwankwaso remains a major political force in Kano State and across sections of Northern Nigeria through his political network.

Party leaders expressed optimism that the alliance would boost the NDC’s prospects in the next presidential election, describing the ticket as a strategic combination capable of attracting broad national support.

Further details of the party’s campaign strategy are expected to be unveiled in the coming months as preparations for the 2027 polls gather momentum.

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Rivers 2027: PDP, APC, LP, AA to jointly pick one governorship candidate — Wike

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Rivers 2027: PDP, APC, LP, AA to jointly pick one governorship candidate — Wike

By Omeiza Ajayi

ABUJA – Federal Capital Territory FCT minister, Nyesom Wike on Saturday declared that the four political parties under the “Rainbow Coalition” in Rivers State will collectively agree on a single governorship candidate ahead of the 2027 general elections, shutting down speculation that any individual has already secured the ticket.

Wike, who spoke at a luncheon organized for coalition candidates in Port Harcourt, the state capital, said the alliance — comprising the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, All Progressives Congress APC, Labour Party LP and Action Alliance AA — has yet to settle on a flag-bearer, and that the decision will be taken jointly under the coalition’s leadership.

“The Rainbow Coalition, we have not chosen who will be the governor of Rivers State. But we have party candidates who have emerged under the Rainbow Coalition. The only decision we have taken is that we are going to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” the minister declared.

Wike dismissed what he described as premature victory celebrations among some of the aspirants, warning that such claims create a false impression and undermine his own political standing, particularly given his membership of the PDP.

He urged all candidates from the four parties to sustain their grassroots mobilisation until the coalition formally convenes to take a unified position, adding that every candidate in the alliance is “okay for Rivers State.”

The minister also spoke about what he called a long-standing pattern of external exploitation of Rivers State’s political tensions, accusing certain human rights activists, commentators, and media organizations of profiting from the state’s instability. He said the Rainbow Coalition was assembled to permanently end that dynamic.

“God said no, we must come together as a people, irrespective of our political leanings. What is important is that we must talk about the development of our state. We must talk about the unity of our state,” Wike said.

He also took a swipe at fringe parties — singling out the African Democratic Congress ADC — arguing that political noise and defections are no substitute for genuine electoral structure, and that only the PDP, APC, and Labour Party have demonstrated the operational depth to prosecute statewide and national elections across Nigeria.

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