All Progressives Congress, APC National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has defended the decision by his party to adopt the consensus arrangement in picking aspirants for the 2027 elections. The APC boss however said no aspirant has been forced to submit him or herself to the consensus arrangement, saying this is line with the Electoral Act which provides that in a situation where an aspirant fails to accept the arrangement the aspirants must go through direct primary.
The APC Chairman made this remark on Wednesday after a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Aso Rock, Presidential Villa, Abuja, the nation’s capital.
His comment however comes on the heels of protests across the country by some members of the party that they have been stopped from contesting as a result of the consensus deal adopted by the party.
As a result, some of the aspirants have withdrawn from the race citing intimidation by the leadership of the party. For instance, a former Governor of Ogun state, Gbenga Daniel claimed that he was forced to withdraw from the contest for the Ogun East APC primary so that the incumbent Governor Dapo Abiodun could emerged as the party’s candidate.
Also, a Nollywood star-turned politician, Desmond Eliot, a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly had complained of intimidation during the APC primary for the Surulere 1 Constituency on Thursday, forcing him to withdraw from the race.
The situation is almost the same across the country
Reacting, Professor Yilwatda said the party’s primaries across the country have been successful so far, despite the disenchantment expressed by some aspirants.
“Where a consensus doesn’t work, you go for direct primary and that’s what people are doing across the states,” he said, adding that the primaries have turned out well from his “assessment.”
“There is no state where people said they wanted direct primary and they were handed consensus. We gave out consensus forms and you must sign the form before you step down. You must agree as aspirants before consensus takes place.
“My assessment is very simple. You can see how competitive our party has turned out to be. Just simple demand and supply: you have few positions and you have thousands of people who have come out to vie for these positions across the country, the most competitive ever in the history of Nigeria. I want to thank our members for the support they have given. It is usual for people to complain but it is near perfect”.
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