By Dennis Okechukwu
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Nentawe Yilwatda, has described the party’s ongoing nationwide primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections as the most competitive in Nigeria’s political history.
Yilwatda made the declaration on Wednesday after briefing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at his Ikoyi residence in Lagos on the progress of the party’s primary elections.
According to him, the large number of aspirants contesting for limited elective positions across the country reflects the growing popularity and acceptance of the APC nationwide.
He said the intense participation showed that politicians and aspiring leaders now see the ruling party as the preferred platform for political ambition.
“The level of competition in the APC is unprecedented. We have only a few positions available, yet thousands of aspirants across Nigeria are vying for them. This demonstrates how deeply the party has penetrated communities across the country,” he said.
Yilwatda commended party members and aspirants for conducting themselves peacefully, noting that the exercise had been largely organised and free of major rancour.
He also revealed that President Tinubu was particularly impressed with the logistics deployed for the primaries and the reduction in violence compared to previous exercises.
According to the APC chairman, the party deployed extensive resources for the nationwide direct primaries, including printing result sheets and coordinating election materials across states.
“This is the first time we are conducting direct primaries nationwide on such a scale, almost like a general election in terms of logistics and resources. The President is impressed with the coordination and the relatively low number of violent incidents recorded,” he added.
Yilwatda further disclosed that Tinubu had given the National Working Committee full moral and institutional support to enforce party regulations strictly throughout the process.
Addressing complaints over consensus arrangements in some states, he insisted that the party’s guidelines were clear and that consensus candidates could only emerge after aspirants voluntarily signed consent forms.
He explained that where consensus failed, the party automatically adopted direct primaries in line with its rules.
The APC chairman acknowledged that some aggrieved members would emerge after the primaries but assured that the party had set up conflict resolution mechanisms to manage disputes and promote reconciliation ahead of the 2027 elections.
The APC primaries began on May 15 with House of Representatives contests, followed by Senate and State Assembly primaries. Governorship primaries are scheduled for Thursday, while the presidential primary is expected to hold on May 23.