By Tom Garba, Yola
In a strongly worded press statement released on Friday, Salihu Bakari, a governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa State, has accused the party’s primary election committee of deliberately omitting his name from the list of cleared candidates for the just-concluded governorship primary held on May 21, 2026.
Bakari, who successfully purchased the APC nomination form and participated in the screening exercise, expressed shock and disappointment over the development, describing it as a breach of fairness, transparency, and due process.
“I duly purchased the party’s governorship nomination form and honoured the invitation of the screening committee. I successfully participated in the screening exercise,” he stated. “However, to my utmost surprise, the list released by the committee omitted my name entirely without any explanation or stated reason.”
The aspirant noted that unlike other candidates who failed to meet screening requirements and were explicitly listed as “Not Cleared,” his name was completely absent from the document.
He emphasized that he received no notification of disqualification at any point, nor was he invited to appear before the post-screening Appeal Committee.
“This omission raises serious concerns about fairness, transparency, and equal opportunity in the conduct of the party’s internal democratic process,” Bakari said. “It has effectively denied me the opportunity to participate in the exercise.”
He further described the action as “a flagrant disregard and breach of the Nigerian Constitution, the Electoral Act, as well as party and INEC guidelines.”
In response, Bakari has formally appealed to the National Chairman of the APC, through the Adamawa State APC Appeal Committee, demanding immediate intervention. His requests include: A thorough review of the circumstances surrounding his omission; Restoration of his name on a revised list of cleared aspirants; The conduct of a fresh primary election to allow him full and fair participation.
Despite the setback, Bakari reaffirmed his commitment to the APC, stating: “I wish to reiterate my unwavering commitment to the ideals, unity, and progress of our great party and trust in the leadership of the party to ensure justice and adherence to due process.”
As of the time of filing this report, the Adamawa State APC and the National Secretariat are yet to issue an official response to the allegations.
The development comes as the APC concludes its governorship primaries across several states ahead of the 2027 general elections. Political observers are closely monitoring how the party leadership will handle the matter, especially given growing concerns about transparency in the conduct of internal primaries.
