A crisis of interest appears to be unfolding within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) following last month’s endorsement of President Bola Tinubu for a second term in 2027.
The endorsement, championed by the Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), Hope Uzodimma, Senate President and National Assembly leader, Godswill Akpabio, and the party’s National Chairman, Umar Ganduje, has stirred significant reactions.
This development has reportedly emboldened other party officials, particularly lawmakers, to anticipate automatic tickets ahead of the next general elections: a prospect that observers warn could undermine internal democracy if not carefully handled.
In states like Delta, where Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and the entire structure of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) recently defected to the APC, tension is already rising over how the national leadership will manage its primaries ahead of 2027.
The critical question now is whether the party will sacrifice the ambitions of its long-standing members, who built the APC before Oborevwori’s defection, or throw the ticket open in competitive primaries.
The same concern applies to lawmakers from opposition parties who recently defected to the APC. While some of these lawmakers have been pushing for automatic tickets, longstanding party members—described as “landlords”—have pushed back, asserting that no such arrangement exists.
Amid growing unease within the party, especially as some members float the idea of automatic tickets, the National Publicity Secretary, Mr Felix Morka, issued a terse statement dismissing media reports that the APC had granted automatic tickets to serving National Assembly members as “fake news.”
In the statement, Morka said: “The report is fake news and should be disregarded in its entirety, as it did not emanate from our great party.”
He added that the party urges all members and the general public to ignore the report, describing it as being “of mischievous origin.”
This clarification comes amid growing concerns that the early endorsement of President Tinubu’s second term by the Akpabio-led National Assembly and the Uzodimma-led Progressive Governors’ Forum could trigger elite protectionism within the party, especially among lawmakers seeking guaranteed return tickets in 2027.
Since the May 2025 endorsement, many lawmakers, especially those who spearheaded Tinubu’s campaign or defended his policies in the legislature, have been quietly lobbying for unchallenged renomination. They argue that their visible loyalty to the president during a turbulent reform period should earn them political protection.
However, several state party organs, aspirants, and governors have expressed strong opposition to any blanket return arrangement, citing the need to preserve internal democracy and grassroots competitiveness.
They argue that if a lawmaker has performed well, they should be able to win a primary, insisting they will not allow candidates to be imposed in their states.
The rising expectation of automatic tickets is also fueling tension between federal lawmakers and APC governors, who traditionally control party structures at the state level.
Despite the party’s public denial, critics argue that subtle lobbying and behind-the-scenes assurances may still persist, especially in APC strongholds. They point to past election cycles, such as in 2019 and 2023, where informal deals often contradicted the party’s public stance on free and fair primaries.
Reacting to the development, former APC National Vice Chairman (South-South), Prince Hilliard Eta, welcomed the party’s statement, describing it as a step in the right direction. He maintained that both governors and National Assembly members should be assessed on their individual merit.
He said: “The President has been assessed and seen to have done a good job. So anybody seeking a second or third term must put their report card on the table for party members to evaluate. We know some of them have nothing to show for occupying seats