2027: Stick to your timetable, APC urges INEC

To take advantage of 13m members, 31 governors, 88 senators, 208 Reps.

Demands equal media access, venues for all parties

By Omeiza Ajayi

ABUJA: The ruling All Progressives Congress APC has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC to adhere strictly to its published timetable for the 2027 general elections, insisting that the rules must apply equally to every political party.

APC national chairman, Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, made the demand while receiving a pre-election fact-finding mission of the Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja.

Special Adviser to the National Chairman on Media and Information Strategy, Mr Abimbola Tooki, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, said Yilwatda received the mission, led by former Vice-President of Sierra Leone, Victor Bockarie Foh, with members of the National Working Committee NWC.

“We believe INEC should stick to its timetable. The rules must apply equally to every political party. The electoral process must be fair, transparent and predictable, without adjusting deadlines in a manner that gives any party an undue advantage,” Yilwatda said.

He said the APC had already released its campaign council list, inaugurated the council, commenced campaign activities and uploaded its candidates to the INEC portal ahead of its rivals.

According to him, the party has presented candidates for all the elective positions it is contesting, in contrast to the difficulties some opposition parties reportedly encountered in fielding candidates and completing their submission processes. He said APC’s organisational strength placed it ahead of other parties.

“Our party is the largest political party in Nigeria. In terms of structure, organisation and membership, no other political party comes close to us. We are approximately three times larger than the next political party in the country,” he said.

He disclosed that the party has approximately 13 million registered members in all local government areas, with membership identity cards designed to allow verification through their National Identification Numbers NIN and voter identification details.

The chairman added that the APC has more than 261,000 executive members across its structures from the ward to the national level. On elected offices, he said the party has 31 governors out of 36, 88 senators out of the 109-member Senate, and 208 members of the House of Representatives out of 360 seats. He added that the party also has a significant presence in state Houses of Assembly.

“These structures are the foundation of our strength. We have built an organisation that reaches every part of the country and gives us the capacity to engage Nigerians across different demographics,” he said.

Yilwatda said more than 7,000 aspirants contested for various positions in the party’s primaries, yet it recorded relatively few post-primary court cases compared with the scale of the contests.

He observed that several politicians who failed to secure APC tickets later obtained tickets from opposition parties, including the African Democratic Congress ADC and the Nigeria Democratic Congress NDC. He said this underscored the intensity of competition for the APC’s tickets.

Yilwatda, however, drew a line between size and dominance.

“Being the largest political party does not mean that we want to suppress anybody. We want a democratic environment in which every party can organise, campaign and seek the support of Nigerians without fear,” he said.

The chairman stressed that the party’s preparation was based on its organisational capacity, candidate readiness and nationwide structures, not on an assumption that victory was automatic.

He assured the ECOWAS mission that the APC would not use its position to suppress opposition parties, and said all parties should enjoy equal access to the media, campaign venues and other legitimate opportunities to present their programmes to the electorate.

Yilwatda cited public protests against the administration of President Bola Tinubu, including the “Tinubu Must Go” demonstrations, as evidence that citizens and opposition groups could express their views without being automatically subjected to arrest or intimidation.

He also pointed to the political realignments that followed the APC’s defeat in the Anambra and Osun governorship elections. He said the party engaged stakeholders after those losses, and that the engagements contributed to broader alliances in support of Tinubu’s re-election bid.

Earlier, Foh explained that the mission was undertaking a political assessment aimed at contributing to free, fair and transparent elections in Nigeria.

“Our monitoring is scientific, and our decisions on issues are based on scientific observation. We verify information before making any pronouncement, and we use a robust application system to collect data. Our reports are therefore not arbitrary,” he said.

Foh commended Yilwatda for his detailed presentation, saying it gave the mission valuable insight into the APC’s structure, membership, internal processes and preparations for the elections.