One place where the aftermath of the APC primaries has engendered profound discontent and deep disillusionment is Lagos state. So controversial is the process of candidates’ emergence and so disenchanted are those who feel the party betrayed their trust and hung them out to dry that the Iyaloja-General of Nigeria, Mrs Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, who is also President Bola Tinubu’s first daughter, had to step in
As primary elections are gradually winding down and candidates for elective public positions are announced, political parties look to put behind them the drama, intrigues and controversies that characterised these primaries and shift attention to the preparations for the general elections. However, this effort to begin earnest preparations for the election proper has been overshadowed by the aftermath of the primary elections.
The primary elections, particularly those of the ruling party, have often sparked grievances and dissatisfaction among party members, who are unhappy about how the party’s affairs were conducted during the primary. These feelings have now evolved into a state of disenchantment and disillusionment. While some measure of acceptance and concession was recorded among certain party members who lost their primary, especially the low-ranking ones without the clout and influence to make their presence felt and hurt the party, the bigwigs and heavyweights are not taking their defeat with grace and humility, at least not when they feel their imminent defeat or eventual loss was as a result of utter manipulation and fraud.
With a horde of disgruntled and disenchanted mid and heavyweight politicians who feel cheated, shortchanged and humiliated at the primary on the loose and on the prowl and many of them ready to take their own pound of flesh, the APC could find itself in difficult situations where it has to manage and deal with members who are ready to work against the party’s interest and sabotage it during election proper. And the signs are already manifesting.
Last week, the former minister of communications resigned his membership of the APC after the party decided to choose its Gombe gubernatorial candidate through consensus, effectively sidelining him and locking him out of any contest for the party’s ticket. Jamilu Gwamna was subsequently declared the APC governorship candidate in the North-East State. A dissatisfied and aggrieved Pantami will later join the PDP where he emerged as the party’s candidate. The APC has the advantage of incumbency in Gombe and, in Nigeria, that counts for something during elections as it gives the ruling party the power and resources to get things done in their favour and fraudulently bend reality to their will. Be that as it may, the departure of Pantami will undoubtedly affect the APC. He was an influential and prominent figure within the APC and his decision to join the PDP after he was unable to secure the APC ticket will not only chip away at the ruling party’s support base but also set up a fierce and keenly contested governorship election in the state.
Also, Deputy President of the 9th Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege, on Wednesday announced his resignation from the APC. He cited the party’s refusal to give him a ticket for a return to the Senate to continue representing the interests of his constituents has left him with no alternative but to leave as one of the reasons he left the party. He also attributed his exit to the recent developments within the party in Delta State, noting that the decision to leave the party came after consultations with political associates and supporters. In the letter dated May 22, 2026, Omo Agege said his political ambitions and those of his followers could no longer be pursued effectively within the APC.
Still in Delta, Ned Nwoko, Senator representing Delta North, is another bigwig who is a victim of the highly controversial APC primaries. He was defeated by former governor of the state Ifeanyi Okowa in the Delta North senatorial district primary election. Nwoko has since rejected the outcome of the election and vowed to challenge it.
One place where the aftermath of the APC primaries has engendered profound discontent and deep disillusionment is Lagos state. So controversial is the process of candidates’ emergence and so disenchanted are those who feel the party betrayed their trust and hung them out to dry that the Iyaloja-General of Nigeria, Mrs Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, who is also President Bola Tinubu’s first daughter, had to step in to salvage and remedy the situation.
Tinubu-Ojo, who spoke during the weekly meeting of market leaders and stakeholders at her office in Alausa, Ikeja, asserted that the just-concluded APC primaries in Lagos favoured certain politicians and schemed others out. According to her, the process was allegedly skewed in favour of the party’s Justice Forum bloc and has threatened to organise a protest over the outcome of the party.
She asserted that the results published by the Lagos APC for Mushin Federal Constituency 2, Agege Constituency 2 and Ojokoro constituencies were manipulated and did not reflect the outcome of the primaries.
She specifically highlighted alleged victories of some candidates, including Seye Oladejo in Mushin Constituency 2, Mutiu Olaide Oladeebo in Agege 2, and Olotu Ojo in Ojokoro, insisting their mandates should not be altered.
“We are ready to protest because of Seye Oladejo of Mushin Federal Constituency 02, Mutiu Olaide Oladeebo of Agege 2 constituency, Olotu Ojo of Ojokoro constituency, because we know they won this election. Their mandate should not be given to somebody else,” she said.
She stated that internal party structures were being manipulated along factional lines, particularly between the Justice Forum and Mandate Group, warning that such divisions could undermine unity ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The ruling party has started feeling the impact of the aftermath of this contentious and disputed primaries with many top guns and bigwigs of the party, who felt the entire process of the primaries were not credible and skewed in favour of certain persons, have jumped ship and decided to actualise their political objectives and ambitions in another party many others don’t have such luxury as they can no longer join another party owing to the provision of the new electoral act which bars politicians from defecting to another after taking party in the primary of their party.
However, not many who lost the primary, especially those who feel the process is rigged and manipulated, will be classy and accept their defeat in good faith. They may take out their anger and resentment on the party by working against it during the election. The pent-up disaffection and unresolved grievances arising from the primaries could destabilise internal cohesion within the party ahead of the next general election cycle.
