- extends form sales, submission deadline, adjusts screening dates
As political parties gear up to pick candidates for elective positions ahead of the 2027 general elections, the All Progressives Congress, APC, has officially announced a decision to jettison the consensus arrangement it had earlier adopted in the selection of candidates and has now resolved to conduct direct primary elections across all the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
This decision was contained in a formal notification to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and the party members nationwide, where the APC leadership made it clear that there will be no room for consensus candidacy, emphasising a commitment to transparency and internal democracy.
The new primary election timeline showed that the party’s primaries will hold as follows:
Presidential primaries are scheduled to hold between May 15 and 16, 2026.
Primary election for the House of Representatives is scheduled for May 18; while the senatorial primary election will be conducted nationwide on May 20, 2026.
ForSstate House of Assembly primary election, May 21 has been selected as judgment Day; while governorship primaries are scheduled for May 23.
Assuring all aspirants of a level playing field, the party noted that every member will have the opportunity to participate directly.
Recall that in accordance with the provision of the Electoral Act 2026, candidates for elective offices are to be selected through consensus and where consensus cannot be reached, direct primary should be adopted.
The APC had preferred the consensus option, but promised to resort to a direct primary option where consensus fails.
However, the consensus option has continued to generate controversies, with allegations of imposition of candidates levelled against some state governors.
In many states, party stakeholders accused their governors of imposing their cronies on the party, hiding under the consensus gamut.
Reacting to the latest developments, many party stakeholders and aspirants hailed the decision, describing it as democracy at work.
Meanwhile, the party has approved a further extension of the timelines for the sale and submission of completed aspirants’ Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms, as well as the screening process for the 2027 general elections.
A statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Felix Morka and made available to newsmen stated that sale of forms has been extended to midnight, Wednesday, May 6, 2026, while submission of forms is extended to midnight, Thursday, May 7, 2026.
Screening of aspirants will now start on Friday, May 8 and end on Tuesday, May 12.
Publication of names of screened aspirants and results of the screening is now rescheduled for Wednesday, May 13.
The Hope
