2027: APC Sells Forms, Mark’s ADC Gets Reprieve, Turak’s PDP Axed

The activities leading to the 2027 general election gathered momentum over the week with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), commencing the sales of its expression of interest and nomination forms to aspirants for various elective positions.

This is as President Bola Tinubu picked the APC expression of interest and nomination forms to seek the party’s ticket for his re-election in the 2027 polls.

The member representing Ikeja federal constituency of Lagos State, Hon. James Faleke, picked the N100million worth forms on behalf of the president at the commencement of sales in Abuja on Tuesday.

The APC Deputy National Chairman (North), Hon. Ali Bukar Dalori; Deputy National Chairman; National Vice Chairman (North Central)Mu’azu Bawa Rijau; National Organising Secretary, Sulaiman Muhammad Argungu; National Woman Leader, Mary Alile, and Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Duro Meseko issued the forms to Faleke.

The lawmaker also picked the forms for the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu-endorsed governorship aspirant for Lagos State, Hamzat Obafemi, and himself.

Addressing journalists, Faleke said he picked the forms for Tinubu as the member representing him in the Green Chamber and on behalf of all support groups for the president.

He said the 2027 election would be a reality for President Tinubu and other APC candidates, dismissing the ‘Ibadan’ declaration of opposition to field a single presidential standard bearer as no threat.

Similarly, Osifo Stanley from Edo State purchased N100 million presidential nomination forms to challenge Tinubu for the APC ticket at the primary election scheduled for May 23, 2026.

Also serving first-term governors, second term states chief executives eyeing senatorial seats, lawmakers and new entrants obtained their forms to seek the party’s ticket for the 2027 polls.

Some of them include: Governors Hyacinth Alia of Benue State; Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, Agbu Kefas of Taraba State, Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State, and Umar Namadi of Jigawa State.

Other governorship aspirants who obtained forms include: former minister of  foreign affairs, Yusuf Tuggar(Bauchi),

Kashim Musa Tumsah(Yobe), Sen. Shehu Umar Buba(Bauchi), Dr Mathias Byuan(Benue), Oluwatoyin Alabi(Kwara), and Senator Kaka Lawan(Borno).

Meanwhile, reprieve came for Senator David Mark-led African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the Supreme Court vacated the Court of Appeal verdict which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), relied upon to de-recognise the former senate president’s leadership of the party.

In a unanimous decision, a five-member panel of  the court, headed by Justice Mohammed Garba, faulted the Court of Appeal for ordering maintenance of status quo ante bellum in the ADC leadership crisis that is still pending before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

It held that although a court has inherent jurisdiction to make preservative orders to safeguard the subject matter of a case pending before it, in ADC’s case, the appellate court unilaterally made the order after it had already dismissed an appeal lodged by Senator Mark.

However, the Supreme Court ordered the warring factions of the ADC to return to the high court for the determination of the leadership case pending there.

The apex court in another judgment, voided the Ibadan National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that produced Tanimu Turaki as national chairman of the party.

The national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, on November 15 and 16, 2025 produced the Tanimu Turaki-led factional national executives of the party.

A five-member panel of the apex court, in a split decision of three to two, dismissed the first appeal marked SC/CV/164/2026, which the Turaki-led faction filed to set aside the Court of Appeal judgment that affirmed the nullification of the convention.

The court, in its lead decision delivered by Justice Stephen Adah, held that the appeal which challenged a suit filed by a former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, lacked merit.

According to the majority verdict, the appellants acted in breach of a subsisting order of the Federal High Court in Abuja which restrained them from proceeding with the planned convention.

On the heels of the judgment, ADC asked INEC to grant it additional time to conduct its primary elections and disclosed plans to release its primaries timetable within the week.

On the other hand, the Labour Party elected Nenadi Usman as its National Chairman at the party’s national convention held in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, on Tuesday.

Usman, who is a former Minister of Finance and senator, previously served as head of the party’s National Caretaker Committee Chairman.

She was later recognised by INEC as the party’s national chairman after a series of court rulings, including a Federal High Court judgement in January 2026 and a subsequent affirmation by the Court of Appeal in April.

In another development, National Leader of the Nafiu Bala-led faction of ADC, Hon. Leke Abejide, announced his resignation from the party.

The lawmaker representing Yagba federal constituency of  Kogi State who announced his decision at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, attributed it to the protracted leadership crisis in the party and legal conundrum that would prevent it from fielding candidates for the 2027 general election.

While Abejide did not expressly state the party he is moving to, his attire complimented with a cap associated with President Bola Tinubu who is the leader of the All Progressives Congress(APC), suggested the lawmaker would be joining the ruling party.

Meanwhile, the newly- registered Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) is gaining traction with recent and planned defections into its folds.

A former APC governorship candidate in the 2023 Adamawa election, Senator Aishatu Ahmed Dahiru, formally joined the NDC with her supporters.

There are equally indications that the former governor of Kano, Rabiu Kwankwaso and his Anambra State counterpart,Peter Obi both presidential candidates in 2023 will soon defect from ADC to NDC.

The NDC deputy publicity secretary, Abdulmumin Abdulsalam, reportedly said discussions involving Obi and Kwankwaso had been ongoing with the party’s National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson.