ABUJA: The ruling All Progressives Congress APC has retained Senate President Godswill Akpabio and several other ranking lawmakers among those whose nomination documents have been processed via the candidates’ nomination portal of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC.
Sources familiar with the exercise disclosed that Akpabio, Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, Senate Chief Whip Mohammed Monguno and former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole have all received the mandatory Candidate Affidavit Form, while their names have being uploaded to INEC’s nomination portal.
The ruling party has also cleared four serving governors to contest senatorial seats in the 2027 general election. They include Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri and Gombe State Governor Inuwa Yahaya.
In Kaduna State, former Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, Senator Shehu Sani and Senator Sunday Marshall Katung also secured clearance to fly their respective party’s flags in the race for Senate seats.
Former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello equally emerged as the APC’s candidate for Kogi Central Senatorial District.
The approved nominees form part of the APC’s 109 senatorial candidates whose particulars are being transmitted to the electoral commission.
Party sources said the ongoing submission followed the ratification of the results of the April primary elections and a review of nominations in line with recommendations of the Primary Election Appeal Committee as well as INEC’s guidelines.
For the House of Representatives, Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, James Abiodun Faleke and Mudashiru Obasa are among prominent APC candidates whose nominations are also being processed.
INEC had opened its online nomination portal for  political parties to submit the names and credentials of their presidential and National Assembly candidates from June 27, with the window scheduled to close on July 11.Â
The commission requires political parties to upload Form EC-9C, containing candidates’ personal particulars, alongside Forms EC9A to EC9E, which contain the lists of nominated candidates and other statutory documentation.
Meanwhile, the APC has made sweeping changes to its list of National Assembly candidates, replacing former Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam, former House of Representatives member Gbenga Elegbeleye and several others following the outcome of appeals arising from the party’s primary elections.
The changes were conveyed to INEC in a letter jointly signed by APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda and National Secretary Ajibola Basiru.
According to the correspondence, the substitutions were approved by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) after considering the recommendations of the Primary Election Appeal Committee.
Beyond the Senate, the APC also replaced 19 House of Representatives candidates across several states, including Benue, Kogi, Ondo, Taraba, Niger, Kwara, Kaduna, Abia and Ebonyi.
The party stated that the revised list represents its final decision on all constituencies affected by petitions and appeals filed after the primary elections.
Among the major senatorial changes, Emmanuel Memga Udende replaced Gabriel Suswam as the APC candidate for Benue North East, while Olajide Ipinsagba displaced Gbenga Elegbeleye in Ondo North.
Other substitutions include Sunday Karimi replacing Aro Samuel Bamidele in Kogi West; Prince Paul Ikonne taking over from Edinburgh Uchenna Erondu in Abia South; Titus Tartenger Zam replacing Benjamin T. Aber in Benue North West; Shuibu Isa Lau succeeding Mohammed Kabir Bello in Taraba North; and Adeniyi Adegbonmire replacing Taiwo Fasoranti in Ondo Central.
Benue recorded the highest number of changes in the House of Representatives category, with five constituencies receiving new candidates. Additional substitutions were made in Taraba, Niger, Kwara, Ondo, Kaduna, Abia and Ebonyi States.
The APC maintained that the replacements complied with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended) and INEC’s regulations governing the nomination of candidates.This version is fully rewritten, adopts a professional newspaper style, removes repetition, and organizes the story into clear sections while preserving all the essential facts.
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