There seems to be confusion in the All Progressives Congress (APC), as aspirants within the party has been runing around in preparation for the primaries election scheduled for this month.
In a yet to be ascertained press release being circulated across social media platforms, the party is said to have notified the independent national electoral commission (INEC) of its readiness to conduct its primaries starting next week using the direct primary system.
You will recall that the APC had earlier made some open declaration of consensus candidates in certain states, after which mixed reactions were generated from the party members, whose interests might have not been favored. However, sources claimed that those who declared consensus candidates might have been doing that through factional arrangement, not having the presidency’s endorsement as it is being speculated.
According to the bulletin flying around, the Presidential primaries will hold on the 15th May, 2026 followed by the national assembly (Representatives: May 18th) and Senate May 20th, state assembly: May 21st and gubernatiorial May 23rd respectively.
About four months ago (during states wide renewed hope community meetings), the APC unanimously endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the sole candidate and presidential flagbearer of the party. It is now crystal clear that the proposed presidential primary might just be an official declaration of the decision, in the presence of INEC and other statutory observers established by the Electoral Act to witness.
Amid tensions, aspirants have started mobilizing their party members and financially inducing them to support them as the dates gets closer. Despite criticisms from experts in electoral matters regarding the vulnerability of the direct primaries as a means to manipulate the process in what could look like the highest bidder has it all. There is no doubt that the process could eventually get messy and controversial, even as most of the political parties might have not fulfilled the provisions of the act prior to pre election processes.
