2027: Fubara Missing As APC Screens Governorship Aspirants

The APC screening exercise ahead of the 2027 general elections recorded the absence of Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, even as the party assessed 14 governors seeking re-election and other elective positions. Also, President Bola Tinubu’s sole challenger, Stanley Osifo, was screened. APC began the sale of its expression of interest and nomination forms on April 28, with the exercise closing at midnight on May 6. The screening of serving governors began on May 8 and is expected to conclude on May 10 (today), while the party adopted both consensus and direct primaries in accordance with the Electoral Act 2025. The party’s primaries are scheduled to hold in phases, beginning with the House of Representatives on May 15, followed by the Senate on May 18, State Houses of Assembly on May 20, governorship on May 21, and the presidential primary on May 23. Appeal committees are expected to convene after each exercise to address disputes arising from the primaries. The Independent National Electoral Commission has fixed the presidential and National Assembly elections for January 16, 2027, while governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections are slated for February 6, 2027. INEC also announced that political parties will conduct their primaries and resolve related disputes between April 23 and May 30, 2026. According to the commission, campaigns for presidential and National Assembly elections will commence on August 19, 2026, while campaigns for governorship and State Assembly elections are scheduled to begin on September 9, 2026. The APC screening committee for sitting governors is chaired by the APC National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, while the party’s National Secretary, Surajudeen Basiru, serves as secretary. Among the governors screened were Abba Yusuf of Kano State, Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State, Nasir Idris of Kebbi State, Caleb Muftwang of Plateau State, and Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia of Benue State. Others included Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, and Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori. The committee also screened Niger State Governor, Umar Bago; Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal; Cross River State Governor, Bassey Otu; and Sokoto State Governor, Ahmed Aliyu, as part of the ongoing exercise. “So far, we have screened over 14 governors and the exercise is still ongoing,” a principal official of the APC, who spoke last ni6ght Speaking shortly after the exercise, the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Eno, described the process as smooth and satisfactory. He said, “Perfect, and I think it’s a normal procedure. I am satisfied. Again, I thank the National Working Committee, the chairman, and all members of the National Working Committee. It brings synergy between the sitting governors and the National Working Committee, and it shows growth. There’s no sitting governor who is not in sync with the National Working Committee. “This exercise consolidates that. It makes you meet all of them, and it shows that there is a flow between us as progressives. So I’m satisfied. “In my state or in the nation? In the nation, you’ve seen the work that the President is doing, and we are all part of it. We’re working from our various states. Of course, it builds up from the sub-national to the national.” Eno added, “And so there is no progressive governor today whose work you cannot verify on the ground. And then at the national level, the President has given us, as governors, lots of support. Things are difficult, we must admit, but we also must admit that things are improving from where this President took over. And there is a pathway. You can see the stabilisation of the dollar. “You can see that, apart from the Iran-American war, which is also now affecting some of the achievements, and this is not only in Nigeria anyway, you can truly say that there is progress. There is light at the end of the tunnel. I feel that Nigerians know that this President needs to come back to consolidate the work that he has started.” The governor pledged that if re-elected, he would build on his administration’s achievements. A former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Bauchi State governorship aspirant, Yusuf Tuggar, said consensus was unlikely in the APC governorship race, citing the increasing number of aspirants contesting the ticket. The Bauchi governorship aspirant, while speaking with journalists shortly after the screening, urged the party leadership to identify genuinely committed aspirants and guard against fraudulent practices during the primary process. He said, “Well, to be honest, it is unlikely that there is going to be a consensus in Bauchi State. I don’t think there will be agreement among the aspirants. Initially, there were five aspirants, and then all of a sudden, yesterday (Friday), we saw a flurry of activities and a deluge of forms being procured. So, this happened a day before the screening, and it makes you wonder why or how. But people are free to exercise their freedom to contest, so they have contested.” “

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