Again, APC Extends Deadlines for Sale and Forms Submission, Adjusts Screening Dates

• Consensus arrangement suffers setback in some states 

•Nasarawa gov, Sule, obtains senatorial form

•Primary elections will still hold despite consensus arrangement, Bamidele declares

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

All Progressives Congress (APC) has approved a further extension of the timelines for the sale and submission of completed Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms, as well as the screening process for the 2027 general election.

National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, in a statement yesterday, revealed that the sale of forms had been extended to midnight, Wednesday, May 6, 2026.

Morka added that submission of forms had also been extended to midnight, Thursday, May 7, 2026, while screening of aspirants was scheduled to hold between Friday, May 8, 2026 and Tuesday, May12, 2026.

Morka stated that the publication of screened aspirants would take place Wednesday, May 13, 2026.

Meanwhile, the consensus arrangement of the ruling party hit the rock in some of the state chapters with aspirants kicking against it.

For instance, former Secretary to the Yobe State Government (SSG), Baba Wali, was announced as the consensus governorship candidate. However, he had a retired Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali, to contend with for the ticket of the party.

Addressing journalists in Abuja after submitting his form, Alkali said he planned to continue and improve on where the present governor, Mai Mala Buni, would stop by 2027.

Despite the governor’s announcement of a successor, Alkali said he did not participate in any meeting where it was agreed that a particular aspirant should be nominated as consensus candidate.

“I have not seen where any consensus has taken place. I have not participated in any consensus meeting, and I have not agreed to support anybody. That is why I am here,” he stated.

Similarly, in spite of the fact that Benue APC stakeholders had resolved to grant automatic ticket to the governor, Hyacinth Alia, as well as serving national and state Assembly lawmakers, the governor would have to contest with former Executive Director, Housing Finance and Accounts of the Federal Housing Authority, Mathias Byuan, for the party’s ticket.

Byuan said while party leaders could decide to pick a consensus, their decision could not override the Electoral Act.

Byuan stated, “This (consensus) is the wish of the leader of the party, who wants to reconcile people. But the Electoral Act says something different. We have to go to the field.

“I bought a form, I and the governor will test the ground. If he is popular, let him win. If I’m popular, I will win. The party and Mr. President have said people should go and test their popularity.

“Even today, I was just telling the committee here in the hall; don’t allow the governor to submit names that will run with the election materials. Bring the materials in Benue, sit one place with the security, allow us to go to our various local governments to vote.

“The governor did nothing in the state. He did not work. I asked them, as the National Working Committee of the party, have you been invited one day to come and commission one project in Benue?

“They said no. There’s no project for three years. So my people in Benue are there to vote for me. And I will assure you I will win that election before 2pm.”

While the governor of Adamawa State, Ahamadu Fintiri, had yet to announce the consensus candidate for the party in the state, a governorship aspirant from the state,  Dr. Salihu Girei, said he was convinced that the race was open and would be free and fair.

Girei stated, “I am very much convinced that it is an open race because, one, Mr. President, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a true democrat, who has fought for democracy throughout his life.

“He fought against military dictatorship and also against the then PDP-led system. He ensured transparency in all his dealings. The Electoral Act has clearly eliminated indirect primaries, which in itself is a form of imposition.

“So I have no reason whatsoever to doubt that there will be a free and fair contest under the watch of Mr. President, INEC, and the National Chairman of the APC.

“It is very clear to me that this race will be free and fair, and the winner will be someone genuinely voted for by members of the APC in the state.”

The senator Bauchi North Senatorial District, Senator Samaila Kaila, on Monday, obtained his senatorial form to recontest his position.

Kaila stated, “Legislation is a continuous process that requires institutional memory, training, and other requirements.

“So any constituency that is fond of removing its legislator is not doing any good to the nation, is not doing any good to the legislature, nor are they doing anything good to the country. You can see the quality of our legislation.

“The reason is that most of us in the Senate, almost 80 per cent, were new. So if you are changing your legislators without considering the fact that it is a process that requires training, a process that requires institutional memory and a lot of other things, then you are not doing anything good for the nation.

“That is why legislation is not very qualitative. But we hope that with this election, we are going to have enough experienced hands in the legislature, and we hope the legislation will be more qualitative and more in the interest of the nation.”

Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, purchased the Nomination and Expression of Interest forms to contest for Nasarawa North Senatorial District in 2027.

Sule, who was represented by former Secretary to the Government of Nasarawa State, Timothy Anjide, said the people had unanimously called on the governor to contest for this position, even against his personal wish and desire.

According to him, “Normally, he would have been here personally to submit his completed nomination form, but we insisted that, as a show of goodwill and to demonstrate that it is our collective request, we should present it on his behalf.”

In Gombe, APC had taken note of certain expressions of dissatisfaction from a few aspirants regarding the recently announced consensus candidates for the governorship, national assembly, and state assembly elections.

That was contained in a press release issued by Amb. Moses Kyari, State Publicity Secretary of APC.

According to him, “The party wishes to set the record straight and provide the necessary context to correct any misinformation.

“First and foremost, the APC constitution explicitly provides for consensus as a legitimate and preferred option for emergence of candidates. It is designed to foster party unity, reduce acrimony, and save resources.

“In line with this, the party leadership painstakingly conducted broad-based consultations involving the Party Elders Committee, the State Working Committee (SWC), the State Executive Committee (SEC), and all aspirants.

“We affirm that every aspirant was duly informed and formally invited to participate in the consensus-building process. However, it is a matter of record that some of the individuals now complaining opted, for their own reasons, to decline participation.”

The statement added, “The party finds it surprising, and indeed disingenuous, that those who voluntarily absented themselves from the process would now turn around to question an outcome they refused to help shape, the party lamented.

“The party would like to make this very clear: the consensus decision is merely the party’s first option. It is our earnest attempt to bring all stakeholders together, preserve internal harmony, and prevent the rancour that often accompanies highly competitive political contests. The party has not shut the door on anyone.”

Primary Elections Will Still Hold Despite Consensus Arrangement, Bamidele Declares

Majority Leader of the Senate and senator for Ekiti Central Senatorial District, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, said primary election would still take place to elect the candidates of the party for various elective positions for the 2027 elections, despite the consensus arrangement.

Bamidele made that known while addressing journalists after submitting his senatorial form.

He stated, “In passing the electoral bill which was signed into law by Mr. President which is now the Electoral Act on the basis of which this electoral process is being conducted.

“What we passed was two manners of primary election either by direct primaries or by consensus. In any case there will always be primaries.

“Even where you have only one aspirant, there will still be primaries because even for someone, who does not have anyone contesting or for someone who has been endorsed — by consensus, everybody will still go to the Ward, everybody will still participate in the primaries because.”

He added, “There will still be the need to do an endorsement, open endorsement at the ward lev-el. So, there’s nothing that can be done under the table whether you are doing direct primaries or you are doing consensus.

“But we feel that in situations where stakeholders agree on a particular candidate, they should be able to come through by way of consensus.

“But where you have even only one person disagreeing with the consensus approach, then definitely there must be primaries.

“In which case there will be direct primaries. The only thing we eliminated was the direct primaries because we didn’t think a few people in the name of delegates should take decisions on behalf of the people.”

Bamidele stressed that stakeholders within his central district expressed satisfaction with the quality of representation and decided not to contest against him

He stated, “I didn’t have to do anything to discourage that. It’s just that no other person has obtained the form. And it’s not by any form of coercion.

“Now, this does not mean that the same thing will happen in all the three central districts in Ekiti or in all the 109 central districts wards in the state.

“But that’s my own experience which is personal. But again, like I said in the event that anyone disagrees with a consensus arrangement, the law is that there must be primaries.”