Barely two weeks to the straw polls of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the scramble for prominent positions in the 11th National Assembly has become a source of worry to President Bola Tinubu.

Also, the National Working Committee (NWC) of APC waived the screening requirement for President Tinubu, declaring him cleared to participate in the party’s primary elections without appearing before a screening committee.

However, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) criticised the Federal Government’s celebration of Nigeria’s reported Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, describing it as disconnected from the harsh economic realities facing ordinary citizens.

The President had, during a closed-door meeting with members of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), enjoined state governors in their second and final terms to contest the senatorial seats in their constituencies to ensure the party’s victory.

He further granted the governors authority to oversee the conduct of the primaries, pleading that they should be fair in the allocation of positions, even as the issue of automatic tickets for members of the National Assembly was discarded.

However, no sooner had the governors regained their influence over the distribution of the elective offices than senators decided to amend the Senate rules, thereby setting up a potential clash between the President’s plan and the emergence of floor functionaries in the 11th National Assembly.

The Guardian gathered that while Tinubu is keen on picking a Christian deputy from the North-West geopolitical zone, notable politicians from the area argued that since the Christians are in the minority, they would need a prominent official in the legislature to market the President’s second term.

Sources within the PGF disclosed that, oblivious of the Presidency’s plan to rezone the Senate Presidency, the PGF chairman, Hope Uzodimma of Imo, and Senator Adams Oshiomhole sustained their interest in succeeding the incumbent, Senator Godswill Akpabio.

A high-ranking senator from one of the North-West states confided in The Guardian that when the Presidency got wind of the scramble for the chairmanship of the 11th National Assembly, the idea of tinkering with the Senate Rules was mooted to Akpabio, and he decided to carry out the instruction in the belief that it was aimed at protecting his office.

THE decision to exempt Tinubu from screening was taken at the NWC’s 188th meeting on Wednesday and announced by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka.

“This decision was made pursuant to the powers conferred on the NWC under Article 13.4 (xiii) and (xiv) of the Constitution of APC to organise and supervise the party’s primaries and, in special circumstances, grant waivers, in the best interest of the party,” Morka said.

The NWC said the decision followed endorsements from key stakeholders, including the PGF, National Assembly members and other party organs at the APC National Summit of May 22, 2025.

It added that as an incumbent who had already been screened ahead of the 2022 primaries, requiring another appearance would be unnecessary.

APC National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, told journalists at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja that the influx of aspirants reflected the party’s strength ahead of 2027.

He noted that interest cuts across all geopolitical zones, with aspirants contesting various offices, including the presidency.

“We have a sitting President, yet people are buying forms to contest. We allowed it. We opened our party for competition,” he said.

IN a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party argued that “people do not eat GDP,” insisting that economic growth is meaningless if it does not translate into lower food prices, job creation, stronger purchasing power, and improved living conditions.

The ADC stated that millions of Nigerians remain trapped in hunger, inflation, unemployment and rising business costs despite government claims of economic progress, adding that “growth that only exists in official reports while citizens descend deeper into hardship is not meaningful progress.”

The party urged the government to stop “celebrating statistics” and focus instead on policies that directly improve the lives of ordinary Nigerians.

The statement said: “The African Democratic Congress (ADC) rejects the Federal Government’s attempt to use headline GDP figures to whitewash the deep economic suffering Nigerians are enduring across the country.

“No government should be celebrating economic statistics while millions of its citizens are battling hunger, poverty, collapsing purchasing power, and rising hopelessness. The reality of the Nigerian economy is not what is written in government presentations. The reality is what Nigerians confront every day in markets, on farms, in factories, in shops, and in their homes.”