AS the race toward the 2027 general elections gathers momentum, several former ministers in the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who resigned from the Federal Executive Council to pursue elective offices are confronting an unexpected political reality — leaving the cabinet has not automatically translated into victory at the polls.
What was initially perceived as a strategic political recalibration by powerful members of the administration has instead exposed the fierce internal contests, entrenched party structures, and deep succession battles within the ruling All Progressives Congress.
So far, only two of the five former ministers who stepped down from the Federal Executive Council after the Presidency directed political appointees seeking elective positions to resign have succeeded in securing party tickets.
The resignations followed a directive tied to the provisions of the Electoral Act 2026, which required appointees intending to participate in party primaries to vacate their offices before contesting.
Among those who left the cabinet were former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, who resigned to contest the APC governorship ticket in Bauchi State; former Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs, Yusuf Sununu, who pursued a senatorial ambition in Kebbi; former Minister of Transportation, Saidu Alkali, who sought the APC governorship ticket in Gombe State; former Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, who contested for a House of Representatives seat in Abia State; and former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, who joined the race for the Oyo governorship ticket.
However, despite their national profiles and former cabinet status, the political outcomes have varied sharply.
Two Success Stories Amid Growing Setbacks
For Onyejeocha and Sununu, the transition from ministerial office back into partisan politics has, at least for now, produced positive results.
Onyejeocha emerged unopposed as the APC candidate for the Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency seat in Abia State, effectively securing her return to electoral politics without internal resistance.
Sununu also succeeded in obtaining a party ticket after stepping away from his initial ambition for the Kebbi South Senatorial seat. He eventually secured the APC ticket for Yauri/Shanga/Ngaski Federal Constituency in Kebbi State.
Their victories, however, stand in sharp contrast to the political turbulence confronting some of their former colleagues.
In Oyo State, Adelabu’s governorship ambition suffered a major setback after he lost the APC primary election to Senator Sarafadeen Alli.
The former minister, who resigned after the deadline set by the President, had entered the race hoping to build on his longstanding political structure in the state and position himself for another shot at the governorship.
Instead, the outcome exposed the intensity of internal party politics and the difficulty of overcoming entrenched interests within the APC.
Following the exercise, Adelabu rejected the process, alleging widespread irregularities and insisting the outcome did not reflect the true wishes of party members.
He accused party officials and political actors of orchestrating a deeply flawed exercise marked by intimidation, disruption, and manipulation.
“In some wards, our people were prevented from voting; they were intimidated, they were chased away violently. And in some wards, voting did not take place at all, but they recorded numbers for them,” Adelabu told journalists during the exercise.
“All these kinds of misconduct are not good at this stage of our democracy in Nigeria and something has to be done about it. We are going to write serious petitions against all these things that took place,” he added.
The former minister’s camp has since maintained that the process lacked transparency and credibility.
Speaking through his media aide, Femi Awogboro, Adelabu further questioned the legitimacy of the declared outcome, saying his team had not officially seen any result.
“I don’t know what you are talking about. We don’t know of any result because we have not seen any result. The result has not been announced by anybody,” Awogboro said.
Asked whether Adelabu would challenge the outcome formally or consider leaving the APC, Awogboro declined to give a direct response.
“I won’t be able to say anything as regards that,” he added.
In Gombe State, the situation surrounding former transportation minister Saidu Alkali took a different but equally controversial turn.
Alkali failed to secure the APC governorship ticket after boycotting the primary election process over allegations of irregularities and lack of fairness.
The primary was eventually won by Jamilu Gwamna, a candidate widely believed to enjoy the backing of Governor Inuwa Yahaya.
Alkali had earlier distanced himself from the exercise, arguing that the process lacked inclusivity, transparency, and the basic features of a credible democratic contest.
His decision to boycott the exercise immediately fueled speculation that he had withdrawn from the governorship race entirely or was preparing to defect from the ruling party.
But his media aide, Umar Alkali, moved quickly to clarify the situation.
“He is still in the race; he only boycotted the primaries. Given what happened during the previous House of Representatives and Senatorial primaries, after consultations, he deemed it fit to boycott the exercise,” the aide explained.
According to him, many observers misunderstood the former minister’s position and wrongly interpreted the boycott as a withdrawal from the governorship contest.
“He is not withdrawing from the governorship race. This is what most people misunderstood. He is still in the race; he only boycotted the process,” he added.
The aide also dismissed reports suggesting that Alkali was considering dumping the APC following the disputed exercise.
“No, he is not quitting the party. He is still in the APC,” he said.
He further stressed that the former minister remained loyal to both the APC leadership and the Tinubu administration despite the controversy surrounding the primaries.
While some of the former ministers have either secured tickets or openly challenged their defeats, the political fate of Yusuf Tuggar remains uncertain.
The former foreign affairs minister resigned from the cabinet to pursue the APC governorship ticket in Bauchi State, but developments surrounding his ambition have remained unclear amid ongoing political calculations within the party.
His situation reflects the increasingly unpredictable nature of APC politics across several states as aspirants struggle against powerful local alliances, incumbency structures, and competing interests ahead of 2027.
The experiences of the former ministers have highlighted the harsh realities of Nigeria’s evolving political terrain, where national office no longer guarantees grassroots dominance or automatic control of party structures.
For many of the ex-cabinet members, resigning from the Federal Executive Council was expected to provide a smoother pathway into electoral politics. Instead, the primaries have exposed divisions within party ranks, growing resistance from local political blocs, and dissatisfaction over the conduct of internal party elections.
In several states, allegations of manipulation, imposition of candidates, intimidation, exclusion of delegates, and lack of transparency have continued to trail APC primary elections.
The controversies have also intensified concerns about the ruling party’s ability to manage internal democracy and reconcile competing ambitions ahead of the next general election cycle.
Beyond the immediate victories and defeats, the developments underscore a broader political truth: power at the federal level does not always translate into control at the grassroots.
As the APC moves toward the next phase of preparations for the 2027 elections, the outcomes involving Tinubu’s former ministers may serve as an early indication of the fierce battles, shifting alliances, and internal struggles likely to shape the political landscape in the months ahead.