In a dramatic twist that exposed the fractured underbelly of its internal screening mechanism, the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has performed a swift about-face. The party has officially reversed its earlier disqualification of the media mogul and former lawmaker, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, alongside four other high-profile aspirants ahead of the 2027 senatorial primary elections.
The frantic backtracking occurred less than twenty-four hours after the ruling party released a controversial list through its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, which had originally barred forty-seven candidates from contesting the party’s tickets across the federation.
The Panic Correction
The initial list, which sent shockwaves through the political camps of several heavyweights, dropped early on Monday morning, explicitly declaring that the screening committees had locked out Senator Ben Murray-Bruce (representing Bayelsa East) and several others without providing any formal justification.
However, following a tense, closed-door session at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja, the party apparatus issued an “updated” list, slicing the number of disqualified individuals down to forty-four. The sudden administrative amendment effectively reinstated the “Common Sense” advocate back into the electoral theater of Bayelsa State.
While the official statement from Felix Morka diplomatically urged stakeholders to “uphold transparency, orderliness, and the integrity of the ongoing primary process,” it conspicuously avoided explaining why the initial vetting committee got the calculations so fundamentally wrong.
“I Am Still in the Race” — Murray-Bruce
Before the party could even hit the print button on its corrected document, Senator Murray-Bruce moved swiftly to suppress panic among his supporters in Bayelsa East. Speaking briefly to journalists in Abuja before the u-turn was formalized, the founder of the Silverbird Group dismissed the initial report as a bureaucratic glitch.
“There was no disqualification. I am fully in the APC senatorial race, and our campaign is moving forward with full momentum,” Murray-Bruce stated, maintaining a calm facade during what insiders described as a frantic couple of hours of high-stakes phone calls between Lagos, Abuja, and Yenagoa.
Murray-Bruce, who famously defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC in late 2025, is widely seen as the ruling party’s marquee weapon to capture the traditionally opposition-leaning Bayelsa East district. The sudden attempt by internal elements to truncate his run sent alarm bells ringing up to the presidency, forcing the national working committee to quickly remedy the slip.
Structural Friction across States
While Murray-Bruce’s clearance dominates national headlines, the updated list indicates that the APC’s screening exercise remains a minefield of controversy. Despite the five reinstatements, several political structures remain heavily decapitated.
Rivers West senatorial district remains a major flashpoint, with the party upholding the disqualification of massive grassroots mobilizers and financiers, including Tein Jack-Rich and Oyukaye Flag Amachree. Meanwhile, Zamfara State suffered the heaviest institutional blow, with seven key aspirants across the Central, North, and West districts failing to pass the administrative hurdles.
As the primaries commence across the states, this embarrassing administrative stumble by the NWC has provided fresh ammunition to critics who argue that the ruling party’s internal democracy is still heavily prone to arbitrary manipulation and bureaucratic incompetence.
