- The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has characterized the party’s ongoing internal elections as the most competitive electoral exercise in Nigeria’s political history.
- Speaking after a high-level consultation at President Bola Tinubu’s private residence in Ikoyi, Lagos, Yilwatda revealed that the presidency expressed strong satisfaction with the nationwide logistical coordination and the drastic reduction in localized violence.
- The national leadership clarified that no aspirant is being forced into compulsory consensus arrangements, affirming that direct primary elections are being systematically triggered in all constituencies where stakeholders fail to sign voluntary step-down forms.
The ruling All Progressives Congress has defended the integrity of its ongoing staggered internal elections amidst growing administrative scrutiny across various state chapters.
Eko Hot Blog reports that following an executive briefing with President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday evening, APC National Chairman Professor Nentawe Yilwatda asserted that the massive influx of thousands of political hopefuls competing for a limited pool of party tickets demonstrates the party’s deep structural penetration into the grassroots.
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Yilwatda maintained that the intense internal competition positions the APC as the definitive first choice for political leaders looking to contest the 2027 general elections.
The executive briefing highlighted the party’s successful implementation of nationwide direct primaries, an administrative feat that leadership described as requiring an equivalent volume of resources and logistical preparation as a standard general election cycle.
According to the party chairman, the National Working Committee (NWC) received explicit presidential backing to rigidly enforce all constitutional party regulations.
This institutional mandate comes as a significant win for the Yilwatda-led executive, which has consistently pushed for direct primary structures despite pushback from several powerful APC governors who openly favored less rigorous, indirect voting formats.
Addressing persistent rumors regarding the manipulation of local candidate lists, the national chairman emphasized that the party’s foundational guidelines leave no room for manufactured consensus.
Yilwatda explained that the national secretariat requires all stepping-down contenders to formally execute verified consent forms prior to the ratification of any sole candidate.
In any state chapter where multiple stakeholders refuse to sign these voluntary waivers, the leadership is mandated to bypass consensus efforts entirely and immediately deploy direct balloting to let the party cardholders determine the flagbearer.
The leadership acknowledged that the highly competitive nature of the current cycle makes post-primary friction completely inevitable.
To mitigate the expected fallout from losing contenders, the secretariat has fully activated its Presidential and Party Conflict Resolution Committees to initiate rapid political healing before the general campaign commences.
As the party moves past the legislative phases, which featured contests across 242 Federal House of Representatives seats, 88 Senate seats, and thousands of state assembly spots, all eyes turn to the high-stakes governorship primaries scheduled to take place today, followed closely by the definitive presidential primary on May 23.
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