Fierce Lobbying, Tension as APC House Primaries Begin Across 8,809 Wards

Across Nigeria’s 8,809 electoral wards, APC members voted Friday in what are arguably the party’s most contested House of Representatives primaries since it was founded. The exercise launched amid visible tension in several states, and sets the tone for the 2027 general elections.

President Bola Tinubu, in a statement released Thursday evening, called on party members to conduct themselves as “sportsmen and women” and warned against a return to what he called “do-or-die politics.” The appeal came as consensus negotiations collapsed in multiple states, with aggrieved aspirants protesting in Taraba, Kano, Kaduna, Oyo, and Abia.

“In every contest, there will be a winner and a loser. I urge the winners not to gloat in victory and the losers to show sportsmanship by taking things in their stride,” Tinubu said. “Our opponents are waiting for us to be against each other; we should disappoint them.”

Consensus talks collapse in multiple states

Despite party leaders trying to broker deals, several constituencies reported breakdowns. In Taraba State, the APC reconstituted a committee to keep engaging aspirants who refused to step aside for preferred candidates. Zonal committees said consensus fell apart entirely in constituencies including Takum, Donga, Ussa, Kurmi, Nguroje, and Wukari.

“Several aspirants believed the process was designed to favour certain individuals, but the consultations later became useful platforms for dialogue and reconciliation,” said Dr. Philip Duwe, who chaired the Southern Zone Consensus Committee in Taraba.

In Kano State, consensus negotiations remained deadlocked late Thursday across all 24 federal constituencies. APC Publicity Secretary Auwal Soja admitted that direct primaries would hold wherever consensus failed.

Abia leaders push for unity

In Abia State, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu moved to cool tensions, dismissing talk that some aspirants had already been handed automatic tickets. Speaking at a pre-primary stakeholders’ meeting in Umuahia, he insisted every aspirant had to earn the ticket through a transparent process.

“There is no automatic ticket and no list by anybody. The party has given us only two democratic options — consensus or direct primaries,” Kalu said. Former Abia governor and senator Orji Uzor Kalu, at the same meeting, said President Tinubu had told party leaders to stay united.

The APC primaries run through May 25, when the presidential primary holds. Under the Electoral Act 2026, which cut the statutory notice period for elections from 360 to 300 days, parties can use direct primaries or consensus with written consent from cleared aspirants.

Sources: Punch, ThisDay, The Nation, Guardian