Primaries: Can APC Weather the Storm?

With the rejection of the results of the primaries of the All Progressives Congress by many aspirants across several states, can the ruling party weather the storm? Ejiofor Alike asks

More aspirants vying for the tickets of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general election have continued to reject the outcome of the primaries across many states, putting the ruling party’s capacity to manage internal crises to test.

The APC had held its senatorial primaries between last Monday and Tuesday, while the governorship primaries were held on Thursday.

However, the primaries witnessed controversies with many of the aspirants withdrawing from the race due to alleged imposition while others disagreed with the processes and the outcomes.

Despite efforts being made to placate the aggrieved aspirants, many have refused all entreaties for them to accept the outcomes of the exercises.

Aggrieved aspirants in Lagos, Ogun, Edo, Ondo, Imo, Rivers, Benue and Adamawa states were also said to be planning a showdown over the alleged malpractices and imposition of candidates during the primaries.

In Kogi State, the senator representing Kogi East, Isah Jibrin, has also rejected the official results of the primaries as announced by the party and declared himself the authentic candidate.

According to the official results, Joseph Erico, the preferred aspirant of Governor Usman Ododo, polled 3,642 votes and was subsequently declared winner.

Since the announcement of the result, Jibrin has continued to express anger for being denied the ticket despite his loyalty to Governor Ododo and former Governor Yahaya Bello.

In a statement issued last Thursday, three days after losing the primary election, Jibrin insisted that he remained the rightful candidate of the party for the district.

“Let me state categorically and without ambiguity: I remain the authentic candidate of the APC in Kogi East and firmly committed to seeking the mandate of my people once again under the platform of our great party, the APC. At no time did I withdraw, step down, or authorise any individual or group to issue statements on my behalf regarding such baseless claims.”

In Lagos State, the lawmaker, representing Surulere Constituency I, Desmond Elliot, has also rejected the outcome of the primary election, insisting that he would challenge the process through the party’s appeal mechanism.

In the official results, Odunuga-Bakare, who enjoyed the backing of the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, polled 11,385 votes to emerge the winner of the contest, while Elliot secured 270 votes.

Reacting to the outcome in a chat with reporters on Wednesday, the lawmaker said he was dissatisfied with the conduct of the primary and would formally challenge the process.

In Kaduna, the former Speaker of the state House of Assembly and Kaduna Central senatorial aspirant, Yusuf Ibrahim Zailani, has also rejected the outcome of the exercise insisting that no valid primary election was conducted across the zone.

Addressing journalists on Tuesday, Zailani’s campaign council alleged that the process was flawed, non-transparent and did not meet the standards set by the APC.

In Bauchi State, a senatorial aspirant in the Southern Senatorial District, Abdulmumin Kundak, alleged that no valid primary election was conducted in the district.

Addressing a press conference in Bauchi, Kundak insisted that there was no evidence that any primary election took place across the senatorial district.

An aspirant from Ekiti State, Senator Ayo Arise, has also rejected the results of the primary of APC in Ekiti North, which showed that incumbent Senator Cyril Fasuyi won.

Arise insisted that he won the Ekiti North Senatorial District primary with 8,687 votes, against Fasuyi’s 7,755 votes.

In Cross Rivers State, the Senator representing Cross River central senatorial district, Senator Eteng Jones Williams and former APC national women’s leader, Ms. Mary Ekpere have also rejected the APC Central Senatorial District results, arguing that there was no primary election in all the 66 wards of the senatorial zone.

Similarly, APC stakeholders in the Kwara South senatorial district of Kwara State had also alleged massive irregularities in the House of Representatives primary exercise in the Ekiti/Oke Ero/Isin/Irepodun federal constituency of the state.

The chairman and secretary of the group, Olaiya Bello and Ayobola Samuel, called for cancellation of the results arising from the process.

In Oyo State, five APC governorship aspirants, in a communiqué signed by the former Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Rauf Olaniyan; Hakeem Alao; Prince Musibau Asatola; Dr. Ololade Usman Bakare; and Akeem Agbaje,  described the House of Representatives’ primaries as charade, and called on President Tinubu to step into the matter.

In Gombe State, a former governor of the state, and incumbent senator, Danjuma Goje, on Monday rejected the senatorial primary election in Gombe Central.

Rejecting the results through his Special Assistant, Ahmed Kashere, Goje urged party members, supporters, and residents of the district to disregard the purported results.

Media reports quoted President Tinubu as expressing displeasure over the conduct of the party’s legislative primaries.

Tinubu also reportedly distanced himself from the widespread reports of candidate imposition and directed the party’s national leadership to take corrective action.

Unnamed sources were quoted as saying that during a meeting with South-west APC leaders, Tinubu was visibly unsettled by the turn of events across the country during the National Assembly primaries.

“Yes, I gave governors the privilege to coordinate and take charge of party affairs in their respective states, but I did not ask anyone to impose candidates indiscriminately. Even where necessary, no one should be a judge in his own case,” the president was quoted as saying by sources privy to the meeting.

Tinubu was said to have told the meeting that he had since moved to address the fallout.

He said, “Where free-and-fair primary elections did not take place, I have directed the National Chairman and National Secretary to do the needful in restoring the integrity of the party”.

Aggrieved aspirants have continued to call for justice.

However, after a meeting with Tinubu last Wednesday, the National Chairman of APC, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, declared that the ruling party had activated internal mechanisms to quickly address grievances and disagreements arising from the primary elections, assuring that aggrieved members would be reconciled ahead of the 2027 general election.

According to him, the APC already has established structures for resolving disputes and ensuring that post-primary tensions do not degenerate into prolonged crises.

Can the APC weather the storm or will the aggrieved aspirants take advantage of last Thursday’s judgment of the Federal High sitting in Abuja, which has provided a window for the aspirants that lost the primaries to defect to other political parties?

The judgment, delivered by M. G. Umar, changed INEC’s schedules for the conduct of primary elections of political parties as well as timeframes for the nomination, withdrawal and replacement of personal particulars of candidates by their political parties and the publication of the final list of candidates for the 2027 general elections by the commission.

The events of the coming weeks will reveal the capacity of the ruling party to manage internal crises.