Kogi West APC stakeholders reject alleged substitution of senate candidate

WARD, local government, zonal and state executive members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi West Senatorial District have petitioned the party’s National Chairman, protesting what they described as the alleged illegal substitution of the winner of the party’s senatorial primary, Hon. Samuel Bamidele Aro, with Senator Sunday Karimi.

In the petition dated July 6, 2026, and addressed to the APC National Secretariat in Abuja, the party officials called on the National Working Committee (NWC) to reverse the alleged substitution, insisting that Aro remains the duly elected candidate of the party for the Kogi West Senatorial District.

The petition, signed on behalf of the executives by the Kogi West Zonal Chairman, Hon. Aledare Emmanuel Ayo, APC Deputy State Chairman, Hon. Aliyu Salihu, and the State Youth Leader, Hon. Buhari Lokoja, described the reported replacement as unlawful and warned that it could undermine party unity and weaken the APC’s electoral fortunes ahead of the 2027 general elections.

According to the petitioners, party executives at the ward, local government, zonal and state levels had, months before the primary election, passed votes of no confidence in Senator Karimi over concerns about his suitability and alignment with the party’s objectives in the district.

They maintained that the APC senatorial primary was validly conducted and produced Aro as the winner, adding that the result was affirmed by the party’s electoral committee and remained the only legitimate outcome after the expiration of the appeal period.

The executives further argued that Senator Karimi neither challenged the outcome of the primary through the party’s internal appeal mechanism nor obtained any court judgment nullifying Aro’s victory.

As such, they contended that any subsequent substitution would violate the Electoral Act, the APC Constitution and Guidelines, as well as the wishes of party members who participated in the exercise.

The petition also dismissed claims that Aro voluntarily withdrew from the race, insisting that he neither completed nor submitted the statutory withdrawal form required by law.

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The party officials alleged that the APC leadership may have been misled into approving the reported substitution and cautioned that failure to resolve the matter could deepen internal divisions within the Kogi West chapter of the party.

They urged the National Working Committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the alleged substitution, restore Aro as the APC’s authentic senatorial candidate for Kogi West if the substitution occurred, and uphold the principles of internal democracy and the rule of law.

Copies of the petition were also sent to the APC National Secretary, the party’s National Legal Adviser and the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).