Several serving All Progressives Congress (APC) senators lost their return tickets in yesterday’s primaries ahead of the 2027 National Assembly elections, as the anti-defection provisions embedded in the Electoral Act 2026 came back to haunt some of their architects.
Among the prominent lawmakers defeated was Senator Ned Nwoko of Delta North Senatorial District, who lost to former Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa by a wide margin.
In Edo South Senatorial District, Senator Neda Imasuen lost to a former member of the House of Representatives, Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama.
Similarly, Senator Jibrin Isah, popularly known as Echocho, was defeated in the Kogi East Senatorial District primary by Dr Erico Ameh.
Apart from those defeated during the primaries, some serving APC senators were disqualified from participating in the exercise during the screening stage.
Those affected include Senators Ipalibo Banigo (Rivers West), Benson Agadaga (Bayelsa East) and Abdulhamid Madori (Jigawa North West).
By April this year, when the House of Representatives moved to criminalise dual membership of political parties, many lawmakers in the ruling All Progressives Congress believed the measure was aimed at curbing opposition defections ahead of the 2027 elections.
The move followed the political shock created by former Anambra State Governor, Mr Peter Obi, who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the Labour Party (LP) shortly before the 2023 presidential election and went on to mount a strong challenge at the polls.
Determined to block similar last-minute defections, the National Assembly, working with the APC-led Executive, introduced sweeping amendments to the Electoral Act 2026 regulating party membership and candidate nominations.
Although public debate initially focused on the omission of electronic transmission of results to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) IReV portal and restrictions on court intervention in electoral matters, lawmakers quietly inserted stricter anti-defection provisions into the amended law.
The amendment to Section 83 barred politicians from switching parties after membership registers had been submitted to INEC for the same election cycle.
Confident the provision would mainly trap opposition figures seeking alternative platforms, lawmakers passed the amendment in a single plenary session on March 11, 2026.
Yesterday’s primaries, however, showed that some of the law’s promoters had become its first major casualties.
Nevertheless, several other serving senators secured return tickets either through consensus arrangements or direct contests.
Among those returned through affirmation were the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom North-West), who polled 121,425 votes, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin (Kano North), and Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central).
Others who secured return tickets include the three senators from Borno State — Kaka Shehu Lawan (Borno Central), Tahir Monguno (Borno North) and Ali Ndume (Borno South).
Former Senate President Ahmad Lawan also emerged through affirmation in Yobe North Senatorial District.
In Abia North Senatorial District, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu won a direct contest against Philip Nto, polling 65,651 votes against Nto’s 2,103 votes.
Results from several other senatorial districts across the country were still being collated as of the time of filing this report.
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