In Kogi State, APC is no longer a political party. It is a house of many rooms where brothers lock doors against each other.
You enter Kogi West, you hear the war drum. Senator Sunday Karimi was declared winner of the May 18, 2026 senatorial primary with 51,665 votes, but his own party man, Hon. Samuel Bamidele Aro, has dragged the APC, Karimi and INEC to Federal High Court in Lokoja, saying Karimi never went through the party’s appeal process nor got a court order before his name replaced Aro’s on the list.
You move to Kogi East, the same script. Senator Jibrin Isah “Echocho” lost his ticket to a rival widely seen as backed by Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo and former Governor Yahaya Bello’s camp. The man who delivered the senatorial district for APC is now treated as an outsider in his own party.
You enter Kogi Central, the heart of the Bello dynasty. Chief Momoh Yusuf Obaro has sued former Governor Yahaya Bello himself over the Kogi Central Senatorial primary. Father and son of the same political family in court.
And at the grassroots, it gets pettier. In Lokoja LGA, eight party loyalists were purportedly suspended by their own ward executives. A lawyer, Barr. Shuaibu Ibrahim, had to write a letter dated August 27, 2026 demanding immediate reversal of the suspension. Suspension letters flying, not for PDP or SDP members, but for APC members against APC members.
So we must ask the question:
Why this hatred?
Power without succession plan: The Audu/Faleke political family, the Bello family, and the Ododo government all claim ownership of APC in Kogi. A group within APC has even accused a faction of the Audu/Faleke family of recruiting APC members to support opposition parties ahead of 2027, allegedly to undermine President Tinubu’s structure. When loyalty is defined as loyalty to a godfather, not to the party, every member becomes a suspected traitor. 2. Selective justice: Ward and local government officials who attend Karimi’s constituency activities are allegedly facing disciplinary measures, while others openly engage in anti-party activities under the guise of TSG – Tinubu Support Group. The law applies differently depending on whose camp you belong to. 3. 2027 has come too early: The battle for 2027 Senate tickets has started in 2026. Everyone is securing his own future, not the party’s future. As Tribune reported, this is raising serious concerns about APC unity ahead of 2027.
The irony is stark. The APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Durosinmi Meseko, had to call for “fairness, equity and inclusive governance” just to restore peace in his own state. And a Peace and Reconciliation Committee headed by former Governor Capt. Idris Wada had to invite leaders like Dr. Tim Nda Diche to Abuja to beg for “genuine reconciliation”.
In Kogi, APC members don’t need opposition to defeat them. They have perfected the art of defeating themselves.
Kogi APC elders themselves now accuse Governor Ododo of deepening the crisis, describing recent moves against Karimi as a “sponsored charade”.
Is this still a political party or a collection of wounded egos sharing one logo?
In Ajaka APC/TSG office was vandalized,the same fate befell the Lokoja office with a noticeable schism causing irredeemable frictions in the party,.
That is the question Kogi APC must answer before 2027 answers it for them.
– Amb. Ahmed Suleiman MAS writes from Etutekpe via Iyale.
