APC Aspirant Calls For Fresh Primaries Over Omission From Adamawa Governorship Primary List

Hanny Henry

A governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa State, Salihu Bakari Girei, has raised concerns over the omission of his name from the list of cleared aspirants in the party’s governorship primary election held on May 21, 2026.

Bakari made the complaint public while addressing journalists, describing the development as unfair which has tried to disenfranchised him, contrary to the party’s internal democratic process.

He stated that he participated fully in all stages of the exercise, including the purchase of nomination and expression of interest forms as well as the screening conducted by the party.

According to him, he successfully passed the screening exercise and was never informed of any disqualification or adverse findings against him before the primary election. He expressed surprise that his name was completely missing from the final list released by the committee overseeing the exercise.

The APC aspirant questioned what could have led to the omission, especially when other aspirants who failed the screening were clearly marked as “Not Cleared” on the released list.

 He argued that the absence of his name without explanation has created doubts about fairness and transparency in the process.

Bakari explained that at no time was he invited before the party’s post-screening appeal committee, noting that there was nothing throughout the process to suggest he had been disqualified from contesting the primary election.

He further stated that the omission denied him the opportunity to participate in the exercise despite fulfilling all requirements laid down by the party.

He described the situation as a violation of the Nigerian Constitution, the Electoral Act, as well as APC and INEC guidelines governing party primaries.

“I duly purchased the party’s governorship nomination form and successfully participated in the screening exercise in line with the party’s guidelines,” Bakari said. “It therefore came as a surprise that my name was completely omitted from the final list without any explanation.”

The aspirant has now appealed to the National Chairman of the APC, through the Adamawa State APC Appeal Committee, to intervene by reviewing the circumstances surrounding the omission.

He called for the restoration of his name on a revised list of cleared aspirants and requested that a fresh primary election be conducted to allow him participate fairly in the process.