The National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has removed six senatorial candidates, including former Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam, and 19 House of Representatives candidates from the party’s final list submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Also dropped from the list is former member of the House of Representatives, Gbenga Elegbeleye, alongside several other aspirants who had emerged from the party’s May 2026 primary elections.
According to the revised list forwarded to INEC, the affected constituencies are in Abia, Benue, Ebonyi, Kaduna, Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Ondo and Taraba states.
In a letter addressed to INEC and jointly signed by APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda and National Secretary Ajibola Basiru, the party said the changes followed the recommendations of its Primary Election Appeal Committee.
The letter, titled “Forwarding of Approved List of Senatorial and House of Representatives Candidates,” stated that the NWC reviewed and approved the committee’s report after determining appeals arising from the party’s primary elections.
It added that the revised list was submitted in line with the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended) and INEC’s regulations for the affected seven senatorial districts and 19 House of Representatives constituencies.
Meanwhile, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, Senate Chief Whip Mohammed Monguno and former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole have received their EC9 Candidate Affidavit Forms.
The APC also uploaded the particulars of four serving governors cleared to contest Senate seats. They are AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara), Hope Uzodimma (Imo), Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa) and Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe).
Others cleared for the Senate include former Kaduna State Governor Mukhtar Yero, Shehu Sani, Sunday Katung and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, who secured the APC ticket for Kogi Central Senatorial District.
The party said the uploading of candidates’ particulars followed the ratification of its primary election results and subsequent review based on appeal committee reports and INEC guidelines.
For the House of Representatives, Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, Mudashiru Obasa and James Faleke are among those whose names were submitted.
INEC opened its Candidate Nomination Portal on June 27 for the submission of presidential and National Assembly candidates’ particulars. The portal will close at 6 p.m. on July 10.
Political parties are required to upload Form EC9 containing candidates’ personal particulars, alongside Forms EC9A to EC9E, which contain details of nominated candidates.
The commission had earlier trained political party officials on the use of the Candidate Nomination Portal to ensure compliance with the nomination process.
Acting Director-General of the Electoral Institute, Prof. Ibrahim Sani, said proper candidate nomination remains a critical stage of the electoral process and urged political parties to comply with all legal and procedural requirements.
APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka disclosed that the party received more than 700 petitions from aggrieved members over the primary elections but said its immediate priority was to ensure candidates completed and submitted their nomination forms before INEC’s deadline.
He said the eventual public release of the final list would come after the completion of the documentation process.
