By Shaagee Orkula
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial primaries across the country on Monday turned into a sweeping display of political dominance by governors and entrenched party heavyweights, as former Delta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, incumbent Senator Ede Dafinone, and Imo governor Hope Uzodimma recorded crushing victories over their rivals in contests that underscored the growing influence of state political structures ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In Delta State, a big upset came from Delta North Senatorial District, where Okowa trounced incumbent Senator Ned Nwoko in a defining contest conducted under the APC’s direct primary Option A4 system.
Official results showed Okowa polling 113,309 votes against Nwoko’s 2,612 votes, while Mariam Ali secured just 40 votes.
The outcome signalled Okowa’s successful consolidation of political control in Delta North despite Nwoko’s incumbency and rising national profile.
In Delta Central, Senator Dafinone delivered an even more emphatic defeat to former Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege, polling 116,252 votes against Omo-Agege’s 3,643 votes across the eight local government areas of the district.
The results, announced by Secretary of the APC National Assembly Primary Committee, Barrister Nusa Amagbor, were greeted with jubilation by Dafinone’s supporters, who described the exercise as peaceful, transparent, and reflective of the will of party members.
The results were officially collated by Okiemute Benjamin, the collation officer, and publicly read out by Amagbor alongside committee member Abimbola Samuel Dart.
The Delta primaries were widely interpreted as a rejection of old political structures and a confirmation that incumbent Governor Sheriff Oborewvori, backed by entrenched grassroots networks, now wields near-total influence over the Delta APC.
In Imo State, Governor Uzodimma demonstrated similar political muscle after humiliating former governor Rochas Okorocha in the APC primary for the Imo West Senatorial District.
Uzodimma polled a staggering 230,464 votes, leaving Okorocha with just 1,098 votes in a contest held across the 12 local government areas of the district.
Chairman and Returning Officer of the 2026 Imo APC National Assembly Primary Election Committee, retired Rear Admiral Williams Kayoda, declared Uzodimma the winner, saying he satisfied all constitutional and electoral requirements of the party.
The Imo governor afterwards described the primary as peaceful, transparent, and widely accepted by party members, while expressing confidence that the APC would retain power nationally in 2027.
Elsewhere across the country, several APC heavyweights also secured commanding victories.
Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin was affirmed as the APC candidate for Kano North Senatorial District in a voice vote affirmation attended by thousands of party members from the district’s 13 local government areas.
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele emerged unopposed in Ekiti Central Senatorial District, while former Kogi State governor Yahaya Bello clinched the APC ticket for Kogi Central after polling 72,399 votes to defeat Ibrahim Adoke and Momoh Yusuf Obaro.
Despite the victories recorded by party stalwarts, the primaries were also marred by violence, gunshots, and chaos in some states.
In Ondo State, panic erupted in Akure after suspected thugs reportedly disrupted the APC senatorial primary with sporadic gunfire at Ward 5 in Akure South Local Government Area.
Delegates and party members fled the venue in confusion, while nearby residents initially feared an armed robbery attack due to the intensity of the shooting.
The incident also forced worried parents to withdraw their children from nearby schools, including Ebenezer Primary School and St Peter A/C Primary School.
Senator Adeniyi Adegbonmire, one of the aspirants in the Ondo Central contest, was reportedly present at the venue before hurriedly leaving for safety.
In Lagos State, violence equally disrupted the APC West Senatorial District primary in Alimosho, where rival factions clashed at the local government secretariat venue of the exercise.
The Lagos State Police Command confirmed that at least 15 persons sustained injuries during the fracas, which saw chairs, doors, and glass windows smashed amid a stampede by fleeing party members.
Witnesses said the process had initially progressed smoothly before disagreements among factional loyalists degenerated into violence.
Some female party members reportedly sustained facial injuries from shattered glass, while several others were rushed to hospital for treatment.