SENATE President Godswill Akpabio, Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, Senate Chief Whip Mohammed Monguno, and Senator Adams Oshiomhole have received Candidate Affidavit Forms (EC9) and are among the ruling party’s candidates whose names are being uploaded to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal.
News Point Nigeria reports that four serving governors, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State and Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State have also been cleared by the ruling party to contest Senate seats in the next general election.
Also cleared to contest Senate seats in Kaduna State are former Kaduna State Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, Senator Shehu Sani, and Senator Sunday Marshall Katung.
Former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello also secured the party’s ticket for the Kogi Central Senatorial District.
The politicians are among the 109 senatorial candidates contesting on the platform of the ruling party.
The uploading of candidates’ particulars, which is a continuous process, followed the ratification of the results of the April shadow polls and a careful review of the list in line with the outcome of the Primary Appeal Reports and INEC guidelines.
For the House of Representatives, Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, James Abiodun Faleke, and Mudashiru Obasa are among the candidates flying the ruling party’s flag.
Political parties are expected to upload the names and particulars of their presidential and National Assembly candidates on the INEC nomination portal between 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 27, and 6:00 p.m. on Friday, July 10, when the portal will automatically close.
The documents required for upload include Form EC9, containing candidates’ personal particulars, and Forms EC9A, EC9B, EC9C, EC9D and EC9E, which contain the names and lists of nominated candidates.
Ahead of the exercise, INEC conducted a two-day training for political party officials on the use of the INEC Candidate Nomination Portal (ICNP).
The training, held on Thursday and Friday, ended with participating political parties receiving access codes to the portal.
It was conducted by officials of the commission’s ICT Department in line with INEC’s established practice of ensuring stakeholders are adequately prepared for electoral processes.
The Acting Director-General of the Electoral Institute, Prof. Ibrahim Sani, underscored the importance of candidate nomination as a critical stage of the electoral process.
According to him, the success of any election begins with the proper nomination of candidates, stressing that political parties must fully understand and comply with the legal and procedural requirements guiding the process.
In Kaduna State, former Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero and Senator Shehu Sani received their Form EC9 from Governor Uba Sani.
They will join incumbent Senator Sunday Marshall Katung as the ruling party’s senatorial candidates in the 2027 elections.
The issuance of Form EC9 to Shehu Sani ended weeks of speculation that his candidacy for the Kaduna Central Senatorial District could be substituted before the close of nominations.
Although the former senator confirmed on Monday night that he had received the form, he declined to comment further, saying it was premature to speak on the development.
However, on Tuesday, Shehu Sani posted a photograph on his WhatsApp status showing Governor Uba Sani presenting him with the INEC Form EC9.
He captioned the photograph: “Officially the confirmed candidate, In Shaa Allah.”
Senator Katung was elected to the Senate in 2023 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before defecting to the ruling party, citing what he described as the democratic dividends attracted to his constituency by the administrations of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Uba Sani.
Former Governor Yero also received Form EC9 for the Kaduna North Senatorial District, completing the ruling party’s list of senatorial candidates for the state.
Following complaints by aspirants who lost out after the recommendations of the appeal panels were ratified by the National Working Committee (NWC), the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) resolved to meet the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda.
States affected by the complaints include Ondo, Benue, Kwara and Kogi.
Speaking with reporters, PGF Chairman Hope Uzodimma said the ruling party was putting its house in order ahead of the general election.
He said, “We have resolved to engage the APC national leadership, led by Prof. Yilwatda, to harmonise strategies for the next phase of the party’s campaign and strengthen internal cohesion before the general election.
“We must work closely with the NWC to strengthen the party’s structures and improve our overall readiness for future elections.”
Uzodimma added that the governors also deliberated on broader issues of governance and national stability in view of public concerns over the prevailing socio-economic situation.
He said, “We did not just look at the elections; we looked at the state of the nation.
“We have resolved to work towards solving the challenges facing our democratic space and ensuring that our people are better off.
“Our ultimate commitment is to ensure that Nigerians benefit more from APC-led administrations.”
Governors present at the meeting included Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Uba Sani (Kaduna), Abba Yusuf (Kano), Babagana Zulum (Borno), Dauda Lawal (Zamfara), Agbu Kefas (Taraba), Ahmad Aliyu (Sokoto), Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe), Nasir Idris (Kebbi), Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom), and Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti).
APC Says Over 700 Petitions Reviewed
Commenting on the ongoing nomination process, APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka said the party’s immediate priority was ensuring that all candidates completed their INEC nomination forms for upload before the deadline.
He said, “The priority of the party now is for all our candidates to complete their INEC nomination forms and have them uploaded to the INEC portal.
“The successful people — those who emerged as candidates of the party — are being provided with the relevant forms for documentation.
“They are to complete and return them to the party for upload to the INEC portal.”
Morka explained that publishing the candidates’ list was not the party’s immediate concern.
“Although we will eventually release the list, our immediate priority is to ensure that our candidates complete their forms and meet the INEC deadline.
“This is more important to us than the public release of the candidates’ list. Those who are our candidates have, by now, received their forms.
“They already know themselves. There is no tension about that,” he said.
The APC spokesperson also disclosed that the party received more than 700 petitions from aggrieved aspirants challenging the outcome of its primaries.
According to him, every petition was painstakingly reviewed before adjustments were made where necessary.
“For those who were aggrieved, we took our time to undertake a very thorough review of all the petitions that came after the primaries. There were over 700 petitions, and each was properly vetted,” he said.
Morka added that while some petitions succeeded and resulted in corrections in certain constituencies, others were dismissed, allowing the earlier declared winners to retain their tickets.
“Some were successful, and some were not. Those who succeeded led to corrections in some constituencies. Those that were unsuccessful meant those earlier declared remained.
“In a few cases, there were upsets based on the outcome of the petitions, and decisions were taken accordingly.”
He maintained that the petition process had now been concluded and that the current list of candidates represented the party’s final position.
“We have gone past that stage. The people filling the forms today are those who emerged originally without challenge and those who emerged through the appeal process. This is the outcome of the review,” Morka said.