The All Progressives Congress (APC) has refused to clear three sitting senators who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to participate in the party’s senatorial primary elections in their respective states.
The senators are Benson Agadaga, who represents Bayelsa East; Garba Maidoki (Kebbi South) and Ipalibo Banigo (Rivers West). Mrs Banigo was deputy to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, when the latter was Rivers State governor.
The lawmakers separately defected from the PDP, the platform on which they were elected to the Senate in 2023, to the ruling APC. They had sought to secure return tickets under their new party, but their disqualification from the primaries has effectively shut them out of the race.
Their disqualification, alongside that of 44 other senatorial aspirants, was announced in a statement issued on Monday by the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka. However, the party, which holds its senatorial primaries today nationwide, did not provide a reason for the action.
Of the three senators, Mr Maidoki, a first-term lawmaker, was the first to join the ruling party. He defected in May 2025 alongside two other senators from Kebbi State, Adamu Aliero and Yahaya Abdullahi, after meeting President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa.
Mr Agadaga, also a first-term senator, joined the APC in October 2025 shortly after Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri defected to the ruling party. His defection attracted attention after he mocked the PDP over its lingering internal crisis, saying the party’s symbol, the umbrella, was “leaking and torn into shreds.”
Mrs Ipalibo, a former deputy governor of Rivers State, defected to the APC in March 2026. She said her decision to leave the PDP was informed by the party’s prolonged leadership crisis, which she described as irreconcilable.
The disqualification of the three senators may significantly alter their political futures ahead of the 2027 general elections, particularly because the APC did not provide any official reason for excluding them from the senatorial primaries.
In Nigeria’s political history, the refusal of parties to clear aspirants for primaries is often linked to internal party calculations, zoning arrangements, loyalty concerns, disputes over the duration of party membership, or allegations of anti-party activities. In some cases, aspirants have also been screened out over incomplete documentation, litigation, failure to meet internal requirements, or pressure from influential blocs within the party.
For the affected senators, the immediate implication is that they may lose the opportunity to return to the Senate under the APC platform unless the party reverses its decision following appeals or political negotiations.
The situation could further trigger fresh political realignments in their respective states. Some lawmakers may challenge their disqualification internally through the party’s appeal mechanisms or in court, while others may explore alternative platforms if reconciliation fails. Such disputes, however, are common during election seasons and are often resolved through negotiations among party leaders and power blocs.
Over the years, several politicians who defected shortly before elections struggled to secure tickets because established party loyalists resisted newcomers taking strategic positions.
In previous election cycles, both the APC and the PDP disqualified aspirants over issues ranging from disputed delegate lists and forged certificates to questions surrounding party membership status and failure to comply with screening guidelines.
In some instances, aspirants alleged that disqualifications were politically motivated and designed to favour preferred candidates backed by governors, ministers, or influential party leaders.