Any APC Member Can Contest 2027 Presidential Ticket

Any APC Member Can Contest 2027 Presidential Ticket – Duru
Party may adopt consensus but aspirants testing popularity are allowed.
“Right of first refusal” tied to performance and constitutional provisions.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has affirmed that any member interested in vying for its 2027 presidential ticket will be accepted, despite the party’s endorsement of President Bola Tinubu for a second term.

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that Deputy National Organising Secretary of the APC, Chidi Duru, disclosed this in an interview with Punch ahead of the party’s national convention scheduled for March 27–28, 2026, in Abuja.

Duru noted that while the party may prefer a consensus candidate, aspirants willing to test their popularity are welcome. He said, “It is not that we are likely, we will have a consensus. That is an indication of the APC being a democratic party. But should it happen that there is a member of the party who would like to throw his hat in the ring? He is more than welcome.”

Explaining the principle of “right of first refusal,” Duru added that it is tied to performance and a party’s responsibility to field candidates who reflect its ideology and manifesto. “The reason for this…is the call on political parties to ensure that those they give the ticket of the party are those who will carry out to the fullest its ideology and manifesto…Because if they do, they will then be re-elected. They will have the right of first refusal, and they will be the people who will be presented to the electorate to vote for them,” he said.

Duru also defended extending the consensus approach to governorship and other elective offices, stating, “It is my personal view that executives who have done one term and have an opportunity for a second term should be granted the right of first refusal…The party holds those in positions accountable to deliver on the mandate given them. And then the motive that comes with the next election…is that if they do not perform, then they will lose the election.”

Any APC Member Can Contest 2027 Presidential Ticket – Duru` — Any APC Member Can Contest 2027 Presidential Ticket – Duru

He dismissed fears that automatic tickets for incumbents could generate internal discontent, noting that constitutional provisions support second-term bids. “It is not for nothing that the constitution provides the possibility for elected governors and the president of the country to run for a second term. I believe that party members will always understand that once it’s a constitutional provision, you cannot deny or exclude the possibility of second re-election,” Duru concluded.