Ondo State Election, 3 Other Off-cycle Polls That May Be Won By APC Before 2027
Akure, Ondo state – The Edo state governorship election 2024 has come and gone, with the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Before the next general elections in 2027, a total of four off-cycle elections will be held in Nigeria. Being one of the two major political parties in the country, the APC’s odds to win are high in these polls.
1) 2024 Ondo state governorship election
The 2024 Ondo state governorship election will take place on November 16, 2024. Incumbent APC governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa is running for election to a full term. Former deputy governor, Agboola Ajayi, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and 15 other party candidates are running against him.
Aiyedatiwa of the APC was the former deputy governor who became governor after the death of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu in December 2023.
Ajayi of the PDP was the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) candidate in the 2020 governorship election.
2) 2025 Anambra state governorship election
The next Anambra governorship election could take place in the last quarter of 2025 to elect the governor of the state.
Other things being equal, incumbent APGA Governor Charles Soludo would seek a second term in office.
Already, the APC has its sights set on Anambra state.
In August, Abdullahi Ganduje, the national chairman of APC, expressed optimism that the party will “capture” Anambra.
He said while receiving the leadership of the Kano state correspondents’ chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ):
“Next year (2025), there will be Anambra, which has been a state governed by APGA for many years, but we have introduced a new scheme.
“The North, south-east political zones are all claiming that they have been marginalised.
“The south-east geopolitical zone is saying the same thing. But what we are telling them is that the marginalisation has been created by them.
“How can you have five states ruled by four political parties? What will be your political bargain?”
Furthermore, Ganduje stated that the party is working very hard to ensure that it gets more states from the southeast geopolitical zone.
His words:
“We want to start with Anambra. Already, we have Ebonyi and Imo. Now we are encroaching into that zone to ensure that we capture most of the states.”
In the same vein, following the APC’s recent success in Edo state, Ganduje repeated the same pledge.
The former Kano state governor said:
“We have started working to develop strategies to win these states. Next year, Anambra state will follow. Let me remind you that we have a project which we named political demarginalisation of south-east geo-political zone.
“That project is also a task that must be done. We will face south-east zone with 5 states. We already have 2, but 2 is too small for a big party like ours. We will face that state and see how we can recover many states in our favour.”
3) 2026 Ekiti state governorship election
The 2026 Ekiti gubernatorial election is expected to take place in mid-2026 to elect the governor of the state.
Incumbent APC governor Biodun Oyebanji is free to seek a second term.
4) 2026 Osun state governorship election
The 2026 Osun governorship election will most likely take place in either the second or third quarter of 2026.
Although the PDP is the ruling government in the state, the chances of the APC reclaiming the state cannot be completely ruled out.
