APC set to conduct presidential primaries in nearly 9,000 polling districts nationwide

Saturday's presidential primaries of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, are set to take place concurrently across all 8,809 wards in the country, marking a significant step in the party's bid to select its 2027 presidential candidate, which seems to be a foregone conclusion in favor of the incumbent.

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The procedure, as outlined in a notice signed by the party's National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, allows every registered APC member in each of the 8,809 wards to cast a vote for their preferred presidential aspirant, deviating from the traditional delegate-based model that has historically concentrated the power of nomination in the hands of a select few party officials and delegates.

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The primary is scheduled to take place on May 23, 2026, with each ward's results to be collated at the local government level by officers appointed jointly by the State Coordinator and the National Working Committee, NWC.

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State Coordinators and Collation Officers will then aggregate results from all local governments in their respective states and present them to the Presidential Primary Election Committee in Abuja on the same day, ensuring a seamless and efficient process.

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The sheer scale of the exercise makes it one of the most expansive intra-party ballots the APC has conducted, requiring the simultaneous deployment of party machinery across hundreds of local governments and thousands of wards in 36 states and the FCT.

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To manage this complex process, the party has constituted a seven-member Presidential Primary Election Committee, headed by former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim, with notable members including Sen. Ken Nnamani, Sen. Victor Udo Udoma, H.E. Otunba Grace Titi Laoye-Ponle, Rev. Jolly Nyame, and Idris Wada, as well as Mr. Sanusi Musa as Secretary.

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A Presidential Primary Election Appeal Committee has also been established, comprising Hon. Aminu Masari as Chairman, Mr. Samuel Piwuna as Secretary, and Hon. Patricia Olubunmi Etteh as member, to address any potential disputes or appeals that may arise during the primary election process.

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Thirty-seven Coordinators and Collation Officers have been deployed across the states and the FCT, including prominent party figures such as Sen. Hope Uzodimma, for Imo State; Alh. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, for Kwara State; Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum for Borno State; and Sen. Bassey Otu for Cross River State, among others.

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Other notable coordinators include Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu for Lagos State; Sen. Monday Okpebholo for Edo State; Sen. Uba Sani for Kaduna State; Sir Siminalaji Fubara for Rivers State; Hon. Yakubu Dogara for Bauchi State; Hon. Benjamin Kalu for Abia State; and Sen. Phillip Aduda for the FCT.