APC KOGI WEST PRIMARY: “IS NIGERIA NOW A HOME OF FRAUD?” – QUESTIONS OVER SAMUEL BAMIDELE ARO’S “VALIDATION” SPARK OUTRAGE
Special Feature
The dust from the All Progressives Congress, APC, Kogi West Senatorial Primary of 18th May, 2026 is yet to settle. But instead of celebration, the exercise has thrown up explosive allegations that are now testing the credibility of Nigeria’s democratic institutions.
At the center of the storm is Samuel Bamidele Aro. Though his name was not on the ballot, he is now being presented as the “winner” based on what sources allege is “validation from both INEC and DSS.”
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The question on the lips of party members and political observers is simple: How?
“The Election Happened On The Field. So Where Did This Other Report Come From?”
Eyewitnesses and aspirants present at the primary held on 18th May, 2026, insist that Mr. Aro did not participate in the voting process.
Yet, weeks after the primary, documents and pronouncements began circulating claiming he emerged victorious — backed, allegedly, by reports from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and the Department of State Services, DSS.
“How come Samuel Bamidele Aro who did not participate in an election is said to have both INEC and DSS validation?” a senior APC stakeholder in Kogi West asked.
“Where do they generate their own reports aside what happened on the field on 18th May, 2026?”
For many, this is not just about one senatorial ticket. It is about the soul of Nigeria’s democracy.
The anger in Kogi West is palpable. Party members accuse powerful interests of hijacking the process and “manufacturing results” after the fact.
“Is Nigeria now a home of fraud wherein people use institutions to backup their fraud?” one party chieftain fumed.
The allegation is that instead of relying on what transpired on election day — accreditation, voting, counting, and collation — a parallel result was allegedly concocted in Lugard house, Lokoja and given the stamp of state institutions.
This, stakeholders say, is dangerous. Because when INEC and DSS, two institutions meant to protect the integrity of elections and national security, are dragged into post-election “validation” of a process they did not visibly supervise, public trust erodes.
Political analysts say the Kogi West APC crisis mirrors a growing national problem: the weaponization of institutions for political ends.
Nigeria’s Electoral Act is clear. Results are supposed to emanate from polling units, be collated transparently, and transmitted. Security agencies are to provide protection, not declare winners.
So if Mr. Aro did not contest, announced his withdrawal due to Presidential intervention and was not voted for on 18th May, on what basis is any “validation” being issued?
Party members are demanding answers. They want INEC and DSS to publicly clarify their role in the Kogi West primary and to release the actual report of their observers on that day.
“Democracy cannot survive if the field and the office are telling two different stories,” a youth leader in Kabba said. “If we allow this to stand in Kogi West, it will happen everywhere.”
A few days ago, Senator Sunday Karimi published INEC’s acknowledgement of the uploading of his name on the electoral umpire’s portal as the APC candidate for the Kogi West Senatorial District. This affirmed the position of the party’s NWC, whose appeal committee confirmed the non-participation of Bamidele Aro in the party primary of 18th May.
But the pressure is mounting. Aspirants who participated in the 18th May primary say they will explore all legal and political options to reclaim what they call a stolen mandate.
For Kogi West, the stakes are high. The 2027 general election is approaching, and a divided APC risks losing the seat.
But beyond Kogi, Nigerians are watching. Because if institutions can be used to “backup fraud,” then no election in Nigeria is safe.
As one elder in Lokoja put it: _“When the referee begins to score goals, the game is finished.”_
The question remains: Which report from 18th May, 2026 will be recognized — the one from the field or the one generated elsewhere? Given the information trending on social media that Samuel Aro has gone to court to challenge a process he did not participate in, political analysts and prospective voters are keenly watching to see how the political brouhaha unfolds.
Joseph Sunday, write from Lokoja
(DEMOCRACY NEWSLINE NEWSPAPER, JULY 17TH 2026)
