APC unveils revised National Assembly list, drops Suswam, Elegbeleye

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has replaced 24 National Assembly candidates, dropping five senatorial and 19 House of Representatives candidates from the final list submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Among those affected are former Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam, and former member of the House of Representatives from Ondo State, Gbenga Elegbeleye, whose names were omitted from the party’s final list.

The revised list, forwarded to INEC, also replaced 19 House of Representatives candidates who had emerged victorious during the APC primary elections conducted in May 2026.

According to documents submitted to the electoral commission, the affected constituencies are spread across Abia, Benue, Ebonyi, Kaduna, Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Ondo and Taraba states.

In a letter addressed to INEC and jointly signed by APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, and National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, the party attributed the changes to 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 adopted the committee’s report as the party’s final position on the affected constituencies.

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“We write to formally forward the attached list of the party’s candidates for the affected senatorial and House of Representatives constituencies arising from the report of the Primary Election Appeal Committee,” the letter stated.

It added that following the determination of appeals arising from the recently concluded primaries, the committee’s recommendations were considered and approved by the NWC before being transmitted to INEC in accordance with the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended) and the commission’s guidelines.

Meanwhile, the APC has commenced uploading the particulars of its candidates to INEC’s Candidate Nomination Portal as political parties race to meet the July 10 deadline for submission of candidates for the 2027 general elections.

Among prominent APC leaders who have received their Candidate Affidavit Forms (EC9) are 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.

Four serving governors—AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara), Hope Uzodimma (Imo), Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa) and Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe)—have also been cleared by the party to contest Senate seats.

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Other notable senatorial candidates include former Kaduna State Governor Mukhtar Yero, former Senator Shehu Sani, Senator Sunday Katung and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, who secured the APC ticket for Kogi Central Senatorial District. Bello is among the party’s 109 senatorial candidates nationwide.

For the House of Representatives, Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, former Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa and James Faleke are among those nominated to contest on the APC platform.

INEC had opened its Candidate Nomination Portal on June 27 for political parties to upload the names and particulars of their presidential and National Assembly candidates, with the exercise scheduled to close at 6 p.m. on July 10.

The commission requires parties to submit Form EC9, containing candidates’ personal particulars, alongside Forms EC9A to EC9E, which contain details of nominated candidates.

Ahead of the exercise, INEC conducted a two-day training for political party officials on the use of the Candidate Nomination Portal (ICNP), while the Acting Director-General of the Electoral Institute, Prof. Ibrahim Sani, emphasised that proper candidate nomination remains a critical stage of the electoral process.

Speaking on the exercise, APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka disclosed that the party received more than 700 petitions from aggrieved aspirants following the primaries.

He, however, said the party’s immediate priority is to ensure that all successful candidates complete their nomination forms for upload to INEC’s portal before the deadline.

“Our priority is to ensure that our candidates complete their forms and meet INEC’s deadline. Those who emerged as candidates have already received the necessary documentation. Making the list public is secondary at this stage,” Morka said.