- the party’s internal crises and disregard for due process led to its setbacks
- the party would not impose any candidate in the next election cycle
- ignoring the Yari-led resolutions could once again cost the APC its political dominance
Former Zamfara State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Sani Shinkafi, has cautioned party leaders against imposing candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Eko Hot Blog gathered that Shinkafi issued the warning in a statement released on Thursday in Abuja, stressing that the APC must conduct transparent and credible primaries to prevent a repeat of past electoral mistakes in the state.
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He said the party’s internal crises and disregard for due process led to its setbacks during the 2019 and 2023 elections, and urged leaders to learn from those experiences.
“All aspirants must be subjected to fair and credible primaries, regardless of their position or influence within the party,” Shinkafi stated. “This will help avoid the blunders that cost us Zamfara in previous elections.”
Shinkafi aligned himself with resolutions reached at the APC stakeholders’ meeting chaired by former Governor Abdul’aziz Yari in Talata Mafara on November 1. The meeting resolved that the party would not impose any candidate in the next election cycle.
He reminded party stakeholders that Section 84(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022, mandates political parties to conduct primaries monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and that consensus arrangements are only valid with the written consent of all aspirants.
The meeting also endorsed President Bola Tinubu for a second term and discussed strategies to reposition the APC ahead of 2027 to prevent the kind of factional crisis that led to court battles and defections in 2019 and 2023.
Shinkafi urged party leaders to “change the narrative, reorganise, and rebuild genuine grassroots support,” warning that ignoring the Yari-led resolutions could once again cost the APC its political dominance in Zamfara State.
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