Three leading aspirants in the All Progressives Congress, (APC) Imo North Senatorial primary have stepped down for incumbent Senator Patrick Ndubueze, calling for unity ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a joint press briefing held Monday, Chief Longers Anyanwu, Princess Gloria Akobundu, and Mr. Kennedy Ike Odoeme said they voluntarily withdrew from the race “in obedience to the existing zoning arrangement” by elders of the Okigwe zone. The arrangement favours the Otanchara/Otanzu clan, to which Senator Ndubueze belongs.
The trio said they instructed their supporters to vote for Ndubueze during the APC direct primary, conducted on Monday, 18 May 2026, using the Option A4 method. Party members in Imo North “trooped out in their numbers” to cast ballots for the serving senator, who eventually clinched the ticket, they stated.
“We came to that decision not only in obedience to the existing zoning arrangement but also in the belief that this overwhelming approval for his return for a second time will sway the general electorate to the side of our great party,” the aspirants said in the statement.
The aspirants also dismissed social media reports suggesting a different candidate emerged from the primary. They said results were collated and announced by the returning officer assigned by the APC National Working Committee, and have been submitted to the appropriate authorities.
Gloria Akobundu, one of the aspirants speaking on behalf of the group, said none of the contestants was “aggrieved or coerced into stepping down.” She added that all aspirants and party members in the state will work to ensure the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.
The APC primaries in Imo State, and particularly in Imo North, were described as “unprecedentedly hitch-free and devoid of the wrangling previously associated with party primaries.” The group commended the “Renewed Hope Ambassadors” for coordinating the presidential primary collation in the state.
Party leaders in Okigwe zone pledged to mobilize grassroots support to “deliver the zone to the APC” in the general election, with the stepped-down aspirants vowing to contribute to Ndubueze’s re-election bid.
The Imo North, or Okigwe zone, primary was part of nationwide APC primaries that also saw President Tinubu reaffirmed as the party’s presidential candidate for a second term.
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From right,Gloria Akobundu,Chief Longas Anyanwu and Ike Odoeme raising the hands of Senator Patrick Ndubueze.
