2027: Governors should not contest primaries, APC Forum says 

The North-Central All Progressives Congress (NC APC) Forum has rejected calls for sitting governors to contest primary elections before securing the party’s ticket for the 2027 elections.

The Forum described such proposals as a “serious disrespect to the Office of the Governor” and warned that forcing governors into primaries could destabilize the party and create opportunities for the opposition. 

“The biggest assets the party has are the President and the state governors. So allowing anybody to go into primaries with them is disrespecting the governors, and indirectly undermining the well-being of the party,” the group said.

The Forum, in a statement on Thursday by its Chairman, Saleh Zazzaga, noted that since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999, presidents and governors seeking reelection have typically secured their parties’ tickets unopposed. 

It recalled that in 2019, late former President Muhammadu Buhari and returning APC governors were not challenged in primaries. 

“The governors should get the party’s ticket unopposed for the 2027 election. That has been the tradition since the APC came into power in 2015,” the statement added.

Zazzaga warned that opening the governorship ticket to contest when an incumbent is seeking a second term could lead to “disunity and crisis in the party because some people will come out just to cause confusion.” 

He added that opposition parties could exploit such primaries to weaken APC’s chances in the general elections. 

The Forum emphasized that primaries should only take place in states where a governor has completed his tenure and a new candidate is needed.

The NC APC Forum also rejected calls that the National Working Committee (NWC) should withhold party structures from incumbent governors ahead of nationwide congresses. 

Former APC Deputy National Chairman Yekini Nabena had cautioned that ceding structures from the ward to state levels could alienate members and weaken grassroots support. 

The Forum disagreed, saying, “The governors are the leaders of the party in every state and the structure of the party rests with them. Taking any decision that will alter the status quo will only lead to anarchy because the governors will resist such, and if that is the case, the only result will be crisis.”

The Forum urged APC leadership to avoid decisions that could destabilize the party ahead of the 2027 elections, insisting that allowing incumbent governors to run unopposed is crucial to maintaining unity and safeguarding the party’s electoral prospects.

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