… Say imposition of candidates will spell doom for party

Stakeholders within the All Progressives Congress (APC) have expressed concern over alleged plots to disqualify popular aspirants in a bid to pave the way for imposed candidates ahead of the party’s National Assembly primaries.

According to the stakeholders, who lamented over what they described as lack of internal democracy, cautioned the party over recurring pattern of imposition which they claimed had been undermining APC commitment to due process.

The stakeholders maintained that popular aspirants were being screened out for unexplained reasons while anointed candidates cruised to nomination without any form of genuine contest.

While warning that the party risks electoral consequences if the trend continues unchecked, a chieftain of the party in the state, Ayodele Emmanuel, maintained that during the recent governorship primaries in Osun and Ekiti states, Senator Iyiola Omisore and Kayode Ojo were disqualified despite enjoying grassroots popularity.

Emmanuel maintained that sitting power holders are purportedly lobbying to place loyalists on primary election committees with the aim to allegedly disqualify strong, grassroots-backed aspirants on flimsy or undisclosed grounds.

He said, ‘Disqualifying popular aspirants like Senator Adeniyi Adegbonmire, Hon. Festus Akingbaso, Chief Alex Ajipe, and even Olusegun Ategbole, who are all solid grassroots figures, can lead to disaster for APC.

“No public hearing is conducted. No specific offence is communicated. Aspirants simply receive a letter stating they have not been cleared.

“For aspirants from large parts of the Southwest and the North, this pattern has raised urgent red flags. The political calculation appears simple: if you cannot defeat a popular aspirant at the ballot, you remove him at the desk.”

While appealing to the party’s national leadership to ensure free and fair direct primaries across affected areas, the APC chieftain stated that failure to do so could trigger voter apathy and mass rejection of APC candidates at the polls.

The stakeholders maintained that in Ogun State, Senator Gbenga Daniel and Governor Dapo Abiodun are reportedly at loggerheads over the Ogun East senatorial ticket, with tensions escalating as screening deadlines approach.

In Ondo State, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has drawn up what he calls a consensus list. However, party members have been raising alarm that the list includes aspirants widely regarded as unacceptable to the grassroots, while popular aspirants across the three senatorial districts may face disqualification by the party leadership.

Meanwhile, four aspirants on the APC platform for the House of Representatives position in the Ondo East and West Federal Constituency have formally rejected the imposition of an Aiyedatiwa ally as the party’s consensus candidate.

Dr Jibayo Adeyeye, Hon Ade Adeniyi, Hon Bola Fisayo, and Dr Michael Ajilo described the political manoeuvre as an imposition they cannot accept.

Addressing journalists after a joint meeting in Ondo town, the aspirants said all of them had obtained nomination and expression of interest forms, signalling their full preparedness for a direct primary as stipulated by law.

The four aspirants insisted they were never part of any consensus arrangement leading to the endorsement of any candidate for their federal constituency, and they demanded a direct primary instead.

In Ondo North and Ondo Central, similar dynamics are playing out, with the most popular aspirants reportedly failing to secure buy-in from the state party leadership, raising fears that disqualification may be deployed against them.

Another APC chieftain, Adegboyega Adefemi, who argued that the way forward requires the party to let the people decide, stressed that “if the APC wants to win the Southwest convincingly and most parts of the North in 2027, the APC National Working Committee must enforce a transparent, credible primary where all cleared aspirants face the delegates. No hidden disqualifications. No backdoor imposition.

“Party members view the screening tactic as a tool to kill equity before voting even begins, denying them the chance to exercise their franchise. Some have warned directly that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will suffer at the polls in 2027 if the APC leadership continues to impose unpopular candidates on the electorate.

“APC was ostensibly built on the promise of internal democracy and due process. When members observe that popularity and service to the people mean nothing compared to proximity to power, trust erodes rapidly.

“The message being transmitted to party faithful is unmistakable: do not work for the people, work for the godfather. That culture kills party discipline and breeds resentment that extends well beyond a single election cycle.

The stakeholders further stressed that Tinubu and the national leadership of the APC are now under intense pressure to allow party candidates to proceed with direct primaries rather than the failed consensus model that has been imposed by some governors, particularly those from Ogun, Ondo, and Nasarawa states.

Opposition parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party, Labour Party, Nigerian Democratic Congress, African Democratic Congress, and African Action Congress, are watching closely, poised to reap political rewards from the latest imposition plot within the APC.