The National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, has expressed confidence that the party will defeat the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the 2027 general elections if the polls are free and fair or not.
Abdullahi stated this during an interview on Symfoni TV while responding to questions on whether the ADC would be able to defeat the ruling APC in the 2027 election.
He said the party had no doubt that it would win a free and fair election, but expressed concerns over the possibility of electoral manipulation.
“In a free and fair election, we have no doubt in our minds that we will win this election. The challenge is, will there be a free and fair election?
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“We are ready for that. We are ready for anything. We are dealing with these APC people; you have to be ready for anything because we know that they will want to steal the election.
“We will police our votes. We know the things that we will do. We won’t tell you, but we are ready for them because we know that if you dine with the devil, you have to have a long spoon,” he said.
A total of 10,494 Nigerians are listed among staff in the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS), according to data shared by NHS Million, a UK campaign organisation focused on NHS staff.
Nigeria ranked sixth overall on the list, behind the UK/British, India, the Philippines, Ireland and Poland, making Nigeria the largest African nationality represented in the breakdown.
The data shared by NHS Million showed that more than 1.1 million NHS workers identified as British or UK nationals, while Indians accounted for 32,117 staff and Filipinos 25,423.
It also showed that Zimbabwe had the second-highest number of African nationals working in the NHS, with 4,780, followed by Ghana with 3,395, Egypt with 2,895 and South Africa with 1,829.
The figures highlight the significant contribution of Nigerian professionals to the UK health system, but also come amid persistent concerns over the shortage of health workers in the country.
Nigeria loses thousands of health workers
The 2025 State of Health of the Nation Report, released by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, showed that over 20,000 Nigerian health workers relocated abroad within one year.
The figure included 3,919 doctors, 7,487 nurses and midwives, 6,861 medical laboratory professionals, 702 pharmacists, 658 physiotherapists and 274 dentists, among other health professionals. The report also showed that Nigeria has 95,456 registered doctors, but only 60,551 currently hold active practising licences.
The workforce shortage is further worsened by the uneven distribution of health professionals across the country, with several northern states recording particularly low doctor densities.
UK remains major destination
The United Kingdom is one of the major destinations for Nigerian health professionals.
Data from the UK’s General Medical Council showed that 4,691 Nigerian-trained doctors joined the UK medical register between May 2023 and April 2026, according to a Punch report.
The data also showed that 15,896 Nigerian-trained doctors were licensed to practise in the UK.
The 2025 State of Health of the Nation Report identified external migration as one of the factors affecting the availability of health professionals in Nigeria.
Migration policy yet to be fully implemented
The federal government has introduced several measures aimed at increasing the health workforce and addressing migration.
Nigeria also approved a National Policy on Health Workforce Migration in August 2024, aimed at managing health worker migration, improving retention and strengthening workforce planning.
However, the 2025 State of Health of the Nation Report said that although the implementation plan had been finalised, full implementation had not commenced.
The report said an additional 23,000 frontline health workers were trained in 2025, bringing the number trained between 2024 and 2025 to 78,146, or about 65 per cent of the national target of 120,000.
The policy is intended to improve working conditions, support career progression and establish a more coordinated approach to health worker migration and retention.
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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has published the final list of candidates for the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections.
The publication brings more clarity to the race for the 109 seats in the Nigerian Senate ahead of the general election.
Politics Nigeria gathered that the final list contains candidates nominated by political parties to contest the various senatorial districts across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
INEC published the list as part of preparations for the 2027 general election, with the Presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, 2027.
The commission has been working with political parties to complete the nomination and verification process ahead of the polls.
The release follows weeks of political activity within the major parties.
Several sitting senators and prominent politicians secured return tickets, while others lost their party nominations during the primary and appeal processes.
The All Progressives Congress (APC), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) feature prominently across the senatorial districts contained in the list.
Other political parties also appear in some constituencies.
The final stage of the nomination process has already produced a number of major political changes.
Some politicians who initially secured party tickets were later replaced following internal appeals and reviews.
In the APC, for instance, the party reviewed several National Assembly nominations after complaints from aspirants.
The review affected senatorial districts in states including Kogi, Benue, Taraba, Ondo, Abia, Niger, Kwara, Kaduna and Ebonyi.
Among the notable changes was the restoration of Senator Emmanuel Udende as the APC candidate for Benue North-East, while Prince Paul Ikonne emerged as the party’s candidate for Abia South.
Former Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam was among the politicians affected by the changes after losing the APC ticket that he had initially secured.
In Delta North, former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa is listed as the APC candidate, while Senator Ned Nwoko is not on the final list.
Former Gombe State Governor Danjuma Goje is also absent from the list after losing the APC ticket for Gombe Central to Mohammed Ahmed.
The development has added fresh competition to the 2027 Senate race, with several districts expected to witness closely fought contests.
The list also shows instances where some parties did not present candidates in particular senatorial districts.
Nigerian Senate
Below is the list of the candidates by senatorial district:
INEC Final List of Senatorial Candidates for 2027 Elections:
1. Abia North APC: Kalu Orji Uzor ADC: Okoronkwo Ikechukwu Bishop Godswill NDC: Nkole Uko Ndukwe PDP: Udeachara Jude
2. Abia Central APC: Atuma Emeka ADC: Austine Okwudiri Akobundu NDC: Nkechi Nwaogu PDP: Ogu Bob
3. Abia South APC: Ikonne Prince Paul ADC: Isiguzor Chukwuemeka Victor NDC: Enyinna Kasarachi Michael PDP: Onuoha Ishmael Chinyere LP: Enyinnaya Abaribe
4. Adamawa North APC: Umaru Ahmadu ADC: Iya Umar NDC: Abubakar Rabiu PDP: Lawan Mohammed Ribado
5. Adamawa South APC: Tangwami Felix Bilishan ADC: Binos Dauda Yaroe NDC: Peter Fwa Barata PDP: Ahmed Hassan
6. Adamawa Central APC: Salihu Mustapha ADC: Ibrahim Mustapha NDC: Ahmed Abdullahi Musa PDP: Attahamohammed Ibrahim
7. Akwa Ibom North East APC: Bassey Aniekan Etim ADC: Sunday Etim Umoren NDC: Afia Ekere S. PDP: Udobang Cletus Kufre
8. Akwa Ibom North West APC: Akpabio Godswill ADC: Akpabio Patience Christopher Ibanga Obot NDC: Inemeh Patty Etete PDP: —
9. Akwa Ibom South APC: Akpan Ekong Sampson ADC: Louis Paul Udoh NDC: Frank Okon Daniel PDP: Isong Etim
10. Anambra North APC: Nnalue Chimzobam Kingsley ADC: Udedibia Sunday Ikenna NDC: Nwoye Tony Okechukwu PDP: Oliatachinenye Edith
11. Anambra Central APC: Ekwunife Uche Lilian ADC: Nwobu Geoffery Ndubuisi NDC: Umeh Victor Chukwunonyelum PDP: Ughamadu Lawrence Chijioke
The APC, ADC and PDP expected to contest all 469 National Assembly seats comprising 109 Senate seats and 360 House of Representatives seats.
The NDC has also been preparing candidates for the Senate and House of Representatives races.
The presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, according to INEC’s current timetable.
The release of the final list means the names of those seeking election to the Senate are now before voters as the parties move closer to the 2027 elections.