APC Congresses: N/Assembly Deserted As Lawmakers, Governors Battle For Survival

As the nomination processes for the 2027 general election draw nearer, many federal lawmakers and their various state governors are battling for dominance in the ongoing state congresses of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The battle for control in the Congress had forced many senators and members of the House of Representatives to desert their duty posts for more than two weeks.

The two chambers had been forced to postpone the resumption of plenary and other major legislative duties twice within two weeks.

The initial resumption date was set for February 24 but was later shifted to March 5. It has again been shifted to March 10, obviously to enable the majority of APC lawmakers enough time to participate in the congresses.

Officers of the state executive committees are expected to emerge from the congresses, which are taking place across the 36 states of the federation.

They are being elected to oversee the day-to-day operations of the party in the states. However, as leaders of the party in their states, the governors exercise great influence over the executive committees in their respective states.

Some of the lawmakers are locked in battle with their state governors over the choice of individuals for the various positions in the state executive committees.

The battle for control is aimed at ensuring that one party in the struggle, mainly the governors, does not fill the state executive committees with “enemy forces”.

The battle is more intense in states where the governors, who would be serving out their second and final term in 2027, are eyeing the seats of some serving senators from their states.

On the other side are some senators, who are eyeing the governorship seats in states where the governors’ second and final term will terminate by May 29, 2027.

Whoever gains control of the state executive committees goes a long way in determining who gets the upper hand in the party nomination processes for the 2027 general election.

Senators Who Want To Be Governors

Some of the battleline states are Kano, Kwara, Ogun and a few other APC states where some senators want to succeed their governors.

In Ogun State, the senator representing Ogun West, Olamilekan Solomon Adeola, has indicated interest in the 2027 governorship race. Adeola is a chieftain of the APC.

The Ogun governor, Dapo Abiodun, who is also of the APC, will be serving out his second and final tenure in May 2027. It’s been reliably gathered that the governor is also pushing for his own preferred candidate.

In Kwara State, the senator representing Kwara Central, Saliu Mustapha, is also a strong contender for the governor’s seat. He is of the APC.

The Kwara governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazak, also of the APC, will be bowing out of office by May 2027. As is always the case, the Kwara governor is also believed to have another potential successor in mind.

Also, the senator representing Kano North, Barau Jibrin, had declared interest in the Kano governorship race more than two years ago.

Jibrin, who commands a grassroots following across local governments in Kano, however, has the state governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, to contend with.

Recall that Governor Yusuf, who is serving his first four-year tenure, had defected to the APC a few weeks ago.

Elected in 2023 on the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), the governor is widely believed to have joined the APC to brighten the chances of his re-election in 2027.

However, Jibrin has a firm grip on the APC grassroots structures spread across many wards and local governments in the state.

In Oyo State, the battle is between the senator representing Oyo North, Abdulfatai Buhari, and the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu.

The two prominent APC chieftains are in a fierce battle for the party’s 2027 governorship ticket.

Less Contentious States

However, the battle for supremacy is less intense in states where the senators enjoy a cordial relationship with their governors.

One such state is Akwa Ibom, where the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, hailed from.

Akpabio and the Akwa Ibom governor, Umo Eno, are political allies, and it’s widely believed that it was Akpabio who influenced the governor’s recent defection to the APC.

Eno, who is serving his first four-year term, was elected in 2023 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

But he defected to the APC in 2025, citing the instability in the opposition party on whose platform he was elected.

Akpabio has since declared support for Governor Eno’s re-election in 2027 on the APC platform, just as the governor also has thrown his weight behind Akpabio’s Senate re-election bid.

Akpabio, who was a two-term Akwa Ibom governor from 2007 to 2015, currently represents the Akwa Ibom North West senatorial district in the Senate.

It is also peaceful in the Osun State chapter of the APC, where a somewhat consensus governorship candidate has emerged in the person of Bola Oyebamiji.

Oyebamiji is said to enjoy the full backing of both President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola.

APC Congresses: N/Assembly Deserted As Lawmakers, Governors Battle For Survival is first published on The Whistler Newspaper