The All Progressives Congress (APC) has scheduled its presidential primary election for May 15 and 16, 2026, as part of preparations for the 2027 general elections.

The timetable, released by the party via its official X handle and detailed in an official statement signed by its National Organising Secretary, Sulaiman Argungu, outlines key activities.

It includes the sale of forms, screening of aspirants, appeals, and primary elections across all elective positions.

According to the schedule, the sale of expression of interest and nomination forms will run from April 25 to May 2, while the submission deadline is fixed for May 4.

Screening of aspirants is slated for May 6 to 8, with the publication of results on May 11 and appeals scheduled for May 12 to 13.

The primaries for the House of Representatives will be held on May 18, the Senate on May 20, State Houses of Assembly on May 21, and the governorship on May 23.

Forms Cost

The party pegged the total cost of forms for presidential aspirants at ₦100 million, comprising ₦30 million for the expression of interest and ₦70 million for nomination.

Governorship aspirants are to pay ₦50 million, while fees for the Senate, House of Representatives, and State Assembly vary.

“Female aspirants, youth and physically challenged aspirants are to pay for the expression of interest and 50 per cent of the prescribed nomination fees for each position,” it added.

In the statement, the APC said the timetable was issued in line with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Electoral Act 2026, and the guidelines of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The party reaffirmed its commitment to conducting “credible and transparent primary elections” to strengthen internal democracy.

As of the time for filing this report, no member of the APC has formally declared interest in contesting the presidency.

Some APC leaders and key affiliations of the party have, however, endorsed President Bola Tinubu for re-election.

Although Tinubu has not publicly or officially declared his intention to run for a second term, he had last week dismissed the speculation that he was scared of the opposition ahead of the elections.

Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, says his track record in governance and infrastructure development proves he can address Nigeria’s challenges.

Amaechi, who appeared on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief programme on Friday, described himself as a “Nigerian candidate,” emphasising that he is not driven by ethnic considerations but by a commitment to solving Nigeria’s problems.

“I don’t care who else is running. I’m running because I’m a Nigerian candidate. Because I know the Nigerian problem. And I can solve the Nigerian problem,” he said.

The African Democratic Congress chieftain highlighted his role in delivering key projects, including the Abuja–Kaduna and Lagos–Ibadan rail lines, as well as the Lekki Deep Sea Port.

The former Rivers State governor also claimed success in tackling insecurity while in office, arguing that his experience sets him apart from other candidates.

Amaechi defended his service under former President Muhammadu Buhari, stating that the administration outperformed the current government led by President Bola Tinubu.’

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has adjourned judgment in a suit seeking the removal of Senator David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola as Chairman and Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), respectively, to Tuesday, April 14, 2026.

The judgment in the suit, filed by a member of the House of Representatives from Kogi State, Hon. Leke Abejide, was initially scheduled for Monday, April 13. However, the trial judge, Justice Musa Liman, postponed it by 24 hours due to other pressing official engagements.

A court registrar announced the adjournment on Monday to journalists and politicians who had gathered early for the ruling.

Following the announcement, most of the politicians—mainly from the camps of the lawmaker and the David Mark-led leadership—left the courtroom.

It will be recalled that the judge had last Friday fixed April 13 for the delivery of judgment after Abejide’s counsel, Ibrahim Idris (SAN), and counsel to the defence adopted their written addresses for and against the suit.

Abejide, a member of the House of Representatives on the platform of the ADC, filed the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025 through his lawyer on February 15, listing the ADC, Ralph Nwosu, David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the 1st to 5th defendants, respectively.

Nwosu, the former National Chairman of the ADC, had stepped down for Mark, the former Senate President, to assume the leadership of the party.

Among the eight reliefs sought, Abejide is asking the court to nullify Nwosu’s handover of the ADC leadership to Mark and Aregbesola as interim National Chairman and interim National Secretary, respectively, on July 2, 2025, at the Shehu Musa Yar’adua Centre in Abuja, on the grounds that it was illegal, unlawful, null, and void.

He is also seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining Mark and Aregbesola from parading themselves as leaders of the party, arguing that their purported appointment, selection, or election was unlawful, illegal, null, and void.

Additionally, he is asking for a perpetual injunction restraining INEC from recognising Mark and Aregbesola as the party’s interim National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively, on the basis that their emergence did not comply with the requirements of Section 82 of the Electoral Act, 2022, among other reliefs.

However, the ADC, represented by Shaibu Aruwa (SAN); Nwosu, represented by P. I. Oyewole; Rilwan Okpanachi, who appeared for Mark; Aregbesola’s counsel, I. R. Abdullahi; and counsel for INEC, Anthony Onyeri, all urged the court to dismiss the suit for lacking merit.

The ADC, Nwosu, Mark, and Aregbesola, in their arguments, contended that Abejide lacked the legal standing to institute the suit.

In their separate preliminary objections, they argued that the subject matter concerns the internal affairs of a political party, which is non-justiciable, and that the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain such matters.

They further stated that, contrary to Abejide’s claim, the Mark-led leadership was elected on July 29, 2025, at the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, and not on July 2, 2025.

The defendants also argued that Abejide failed to disclose any reasonable cause of action and urged the court to dismiss the suit with substantial costs in line with Section 83(5) of the Electoral Act, 2022, describing the matter as academic.