APC Drops Seven Senatorial Candidates Despite Primary Wins, Sends Final List to INEC

The APC senatorial candidates list submitted to INEC ahead of the 2027 general election looks very different from what many primary winners expected. In total, the ruling All Progressives Congress replaced seven candidates who had originally emerged victorious during the party’s May primaries, according to a report from Daily Trust.

Consequently, several prominent political figures now find themselves off the ballot despite securing their tickets at the grassroots level. Among them is Gabriel Suswam, the influential former governor of Benue State, whose removal has already stirred conversation within party circles.

Why the APC Senatorial Candidates List Changed

The party’s National Working Committee based its decision on a report from the Primary Election Appeal Committee. In a letter addressed to INEC, national chairman Nentawe Yilwatda and national secretary Ajibola Basiru jointly signed off on the revised list, attributing the changes directly to the appeal panel’s recommendations.

Because the appeal committee reviewed disputes from the primaries, its findings ultimately overturned several announced results. As a result, candidates who initially celebrated victory in May now watch their tickets go to rivals instead.

Suswam and Fasoranti Among the Biggest Names Dropped

Suswam’s case stands out. He defected from the PDP to the APC in February 2026, specifically aiming to secure the senatorial ticket for Benue North East and unseat Emmanuel Memga Udende, who had defeated him under the PDP banner back in 2023. However, the appeal committee ultimately reinstated Udende, meaning his name, not Suswam’s, now appears on the list submitted to INEC.

Similarly, Taiwo Fasoranti also lost his ticket. As the son of Afenifere leader Pa Reuben Fasoranti and a former secretary to the Ondo State government, he had initially won the APC primary for Ondo Central. Nevertheless, the appeal committee overturned that outcome, and the party instead forwarded the name of Adeniyi Adegbonmire, the district’s sitting senator, to INEC.

Meanwhile, Aro Samuel Bamidele faced a similar reversal. He represented Yagba Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives between 2007 and 2011 and had won the Kogi West senatorial primary. Yet the party withdrew that recognition too, handing the ticket instead to Senator Sunday Karimi, the incumbent seeking re-election.

The Full List of Replaced APC Senatorial Candidates

Beyond these three high-profile cases, four additional candidates lost their tickets through the same appeal process. Below is the complete breakdown:

Taken together with Suswam, Fasoranti, and Bamidele, this brings the total number of affected candidates to seven. Each replacement, notably, favors either an incumbent senator or a previously defeated rival, suggesting the appeal committee leaned toward protecting established figures within the party structure.

What This Means for the APC Ahead of 2027

For a party preparing to defend its hold on power in 2027, this kind of internal reshuffling carries real risk. Primary winners who feel unfairly displaced could easily become sources of internal friction, or worse, defect to rival parties ahead of the general election. Therefore, how the APC manages the fallout from these reversals may prove just as important as the reversals themselves.

At the same time, choosing incumbents and previously narrow losers over fresh primary winners might reflect a broader strategy: prioritizing name recognition and electoral experience over newer entrants. Still, that approach doesn’t come without tension, especially for figures like Suswam, who left an entire party specifically to chase this Senate seat.

Meanwhile, this development arrives alongside other notable political stories making headlines this week. The presidency, for instance, recently pushed back against NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi’s criticism of Tinubu’s administration, arguing that Nigeria’s electricity challenges stem from causes other than gas shortages.

As the 2027 election cycle accelerates, expect further scrutiny of how political parties, including the APC, handle disputes between primary outcomes and final candidate lists. For now, though, the party has made its position clear by formally submitting its revised senatorial slate to INEC.