APC Removes Bello, 25 Top Candidates as Parties Begin INEC Uploads

Sixteen APC governors seeking second-term mandates are being given priority in the upload process. They include Governors Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom), Hyacinth Alia (Benue), Uba Sani (Kaduna), Abba Yusuf (Kano), Dikko Radda (Katsina), Nasir Idris (Kebbi), Umaru Bago (Niger), Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau), Ahmad Aliyu (Sokoto), Agbu Kefas (Taraba) and Dauda Lawal (Zamfara).

The APC’s data-entry exercise covers 28 governorship candidates and 993 State Houses of Assembly candidates nationwide.

To ensure a seamless exercise, the party has constituted a dedicated vetting committee headed by Jibrin Bancir, Principal Private Secretary to the APC National Chairman.

Meanwhile, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has removed former Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam and former House of Representatives member Gbenga Elegbeleye from the party’s final list of National Assembly candidates.

According to an official document obtained by our correspondent, the changes affected constituencies across nine states: Kogi, Abia, Benue, Taraba, Ondo, Niger, Kwara, Kaduna and Ebonyi.

The revised list was formally transmitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) through a joint letter signed by the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, and the National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru.

The development is expected to reshape the APC’s National Assembly contests in the affected states as the party moves to resolve disputes arising from its primaries.

A breakdown of the final senatorial list reveals massive upsets. In Benue North East, former Governor Gabriel Suswam was replaced by Emmanuel Memga Udende, while in Benue North West, Titus Tartenger Zam substituted Benjamin T. Aber.

In Ondo State, Gbenga Elegbeleye lost his Ondo North senatorial ticket to Olajide Ipinsagbe, just as Taiwo Fasorati was substituted by Adeniyi Adegbonmire for Ondo Central.

Other high-profile substitutions include Kogi West, where Senator Sunday Karimi replaced Aro Samuel Bamidele; Abia South, where Prince Paul Ikonne replaced Edinburgh Uchenna Erondu; and Taraba North, where Shuibu Isa Lau replaced Mohammed Kabir Bello.

The clean sweep heavily impacted House of Representatives tickets across the federation. In Benue State alone, five victorious candidates were swapped out, including Ikper Chris Terfa (Makurdi/Human), who was replaced by Dickson Tarkighir, and Livinus Tsar Adzor (Vandekiya/Konshsha), replaced by Sesoo Ikpagher.

Ondo State also recorded a high casualty rate, with six federal constituency tickets altered. Notably, Donald Ojogo replaced Akingboye Leke in the Ilaje/Ese-Ode Federal Constituency, and Festus Olarewaju took the place of Rasaq Obe in the Idanre Federal Constituency.

Similar substitutions were executed in Taraba, Niger, Kwara, Kaduna, and Ebonyi states as the APC finalizes its ranks ahead of the general elections.