50% Of APC Members Dissatisfied With Conduct Of Primaries – North-Central Forum

The North-Central APC Forum has alleged that over 50 per cent of members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are dissatisfied with the conduct of the party’s State and National Assembly primary elections.

The forum made the claim following the conclusion of the APC primaries, which allegations of irregularities, conflicting results, disqualifications and violence in several constituencies across the country have marred.

Several aspirants barred from participating in the primaries have challenged their disqualification and threatened legal action if the decisions of the party’s screening and primary election committees are not reversed.

In a statement issued on Wednesday and signed by its Chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, the forum said the outcome of the primaries had vindicated its earlier warning that some party officials had commercialised the process.

According to the forum, many of those disqualified from contesting were allegedly excluded because they failed to align with the interests of certain party officials and individuals assigned to coordinate the exercise in various states.

The group further expressed concern over what it described as growing dissatisfaction among party members regarding the leadership of APC national chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda.

“What we have witnessed is that the process continued getting worse by the day. They are disqualifying people who are supposed to be cleared while clearing those who are supposed to be disqualified, all because of their selfish interests.

“That is why we earlier raised the alarm that they have commercialised the process. “From what we have gathered, over 50 per cent of party members across the country are not happy with the conduct of the APC primary elections. They are not happy with the national chairman,” the statement said.

The forum also alleged that, unlike previous exercises, the selection of members of the current primary election committees was not based on competence or experience but largely on personal relationships with party officials.

It claimed that many committee members lacked the capacity and exposure required to manage such a sensitive national assignment. “Another reason for the shoddy conduct of the primaries is that the national officers did not send people with the required capacity and experience to supervise the elections in the states.

“What we have seen play out is that they sent their cronies to different states to conduct primary elections, even when such persons lack the capacity and exposure to handle such sensitive assignments. The selection of members of the primary election committees was based on personal relationships and a willingness to do the bidding of party national officials.

“If an aspirant refuses to dance to their tune, once they notice that such a person is likely to win the primary election, they rush to announce a disqualification. That is why confusion has trailed the outcome of the primaries in several constituencies and senatorial districts.”

The North-Central APC Forum reiterated its call for the party leadership to rein in national officers allegedly responsible for the controversies, warning that failure to address the grievances could trigger a major crisis ahead of the general elections.

The group also referenced calls by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for transparent, peaceful, and credible primaries, urging party officials to uphold those principles and avoid actions capable of undermining the APC’s unity and electoral prospects.