Governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are scheduled to meet with the party's National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, to review the just-concluded primary elections and address growing grievances over the conduct of the exercise.
The meeting, expected to hold in the coming days, comes amid rising tensions following allegations of manipulation, imposition of candidates, and the overwhelming influence of state governors in the nomination process .
Governors' Growing Influence
The APC primaries, held across the country, have been characterised by the dominance of governors who control state party structures and delegate lists . Party sources revealed that President Bola Tinubu had allegedly directed the national chairman to issue INEC nomination forms only to candidates agreed upon by both the party leadership and APC governors .
It was also gathered that the party's national secretariat conceded about 80 per cent of the National Assembly tickets in each state to the governors . For instance, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State reportedly secured two senatorial slots and six House of Representatives tickets, while all 26 State House of Assembly tickets in the state were conceded to him .
Controversies Trail Primaries
The primary elections have been marred by widespread complaints of irregularities, with several serving senators losing their return tickets to politically connected challengers . Senator Ned Nwoko (Delta North) rejected the declaration of former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as the APC senatorial candidate, alleging manipulation and demanding ward-by-ward results .
In Ogun State, governorship aspirant Abayomi Hunye challenged the outcome of the primary, describing it as falling short of democratic standards . His campaign claimed he scored 453,765 votes but the party recorded zero for him .
Yilwatda's Position
Professor Yilwatda has maintained that the primary election was largely successful, with less than three per cent of the over 6,000 participants generating petitions . He has, however, warned aggrieved aspirants that the window for filing petitions had elapsed since May 30 .
The party's National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru, had earlier sparked outrage when he stated in a trending video that the party does not believe in the democratic process, suggesting that primaries are merely "eye service" .
Way Forward
The governors' meeting with the national chairman is expected to address the crisis and prevent further defections. Senate President Godswill Akpabio has assured affected lawmakers that efforts are being made to manage the fallout, though he later recanted comments suggesting the leadership would work to ensure "very few disappointments" .
As of press time, the APC leadership had yet to release the official list of candidates for the 2027 elections, fuelling speculations of underhand manipulations to alter primary outcomes .
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