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The defection of Rivers and Plateau states governors to the All Progressives Congress (APC) has further expanded the ruling party’s control of state governments across Nigeria, reinforcing a trend that has intensified since the 2023 general elections.
With Rivers and Plateau joining the APC column, new data on gubernatorial party control as of December 20, 2025, show that the APC now holds the largest share of governorships in every one of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
The 2023 gubernatorial elections left the PDP, APC, and several smaller parties with varied control across Nigeria’s 36 states. In contrast, by late 2025 the APC has consolidated a commanding presence across the federation, controlling the majority of states in every geopolitical zone.
Geo-political breakdown
In the South-South, the APC now controls all six states in the zone. Delta, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Cross River, Rivers and Bayelsa are currently governed by APC administrations, giving the party a clean sweep of the region. This marks a sharp change from the 2023 post-election landscape, when the zone was more politically mixed, with several states under PDP control.
The South-East shows a more competitive picture but still tilts toward the APC. Three of the five states in the zone — Enugu, Ebonyi and Imo — are currently governed by the APC. Abia is governed by the Labour Party, while Anambra remains under the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). This gives the APC control of 60 per cent of the South-East states, compared with a stronger presence of regional and opposition parties in 2023.
In the South-West, the APC controls four states: Lagos, Ekiti, Ogun and Ondo. Oyo remains under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), while Osun is governed by Accord. This translates to APC control of four out of six states in the zone. The party has retained its stronghold in Lagos while adding to its advantage through post-election shifts elsewhere in the region.
The North-Central zone shows one of the highest concentrations of APC-controlled states. Benue, Niger, Kwara, Nasarawa and Kogi are currently governed by the APC, while Plateau which remained under the PDP also recently joined the APC. Now with six out of six states, the APC controls 100 per cent of governorships in the zone. In 2023, the region had a narrower margin between the major parties.
In the North-East, the APC governs four of the six states: Borno, Yobe, Taraba and Gombe. Adamawa and Bauchi are governed by the PDP. This gives the APC two-thirds of the states in the zone, consolidating its position compared with the immediate post-2023 election distribution.
The North-West remains the most politically diverse zone but is still dominated by the APC. Katsina, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kebbi and Kaduna are governed by the APC, accounting for five of the seven states. Zamfara is governed by the PDP, while Kano is controlled by the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP). This puts APC control at just over 70 percent in the zone.
What data says
Taken together, the data show that the APC controls 28 of Nigeria’s 36 states as of December 20, 2025. The remaining eight states are shared among the PDP, Labour Party, APGA, Accord and NNPP. In contrast, the immediate outcome of the 2023 gubernatorial elections produced a more fragmented map, with the PDP holding a larger number of states, particularly in the South-South and parts of the North.
The shift between 2023 and 2025 has been driven largely by post-election defections rather than fresh polls. Several states that were governed by opposition parties after the 2023 elections are now counted under the APC column, altering the balance of power without a change in electoral cycles.
By zone, APC control now stands at six out of six states in the South-South, three out of five in the South-East, four out of six in the South-West, six out of six in the North-Central, four out of six in the North-East, and five out of seven in the North-West. No other party controls a majority of states in any geopolitical zone.
By: James Odunayo
The post RipplesMetrics: APC extends control on states after latest gubernatorial defections appeared first on Latest Nigeria News | Top Stories from Ripples Nigeria.
