The All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected claims that it plans to reserve its 2027 presidential ticket only for President Bola Tinubu.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, the party’s National Organising Secretary, Alhaji Sulaiman Argungu, confirmed that Tinubu has been endorsed across different levels of the party. However, he stressed that the process remains open to all members.
“It will be the wish of the party, and we, the NWC of the party, have already endorsed President Tinubu as the next presidential candidate of the party. And by extension, other organs have equally done the same thing.
“Governors in the states have done the same, too. It has also been replicated in all six geographical zones of the country. But it does not mean that the door is closed. We will not shut the door,” Argungu said.
The APC organising chief explained that no member will be denied the chance to run if they want to.
“We will definitely not close our doors. When the time comes, our timetable will be made known. Anybody who wants to aspire for the presidency under the APC will not be denied the opportunity to purchase the expression of interest and nomination forms to exercise their franchise.
“We never said we had locked the door. We are only telling people that we appreciate what the President is doing for the people of the country and that he deserves a second term in office when we roundly endorsed him recently.
“Democracy does not permit dictatorship. While the majority of our members have endorsed President Tinubu, any other aspirant who wishes to contest under the APC platform will still be allowed to do so,” he said.
Argungu also pointed to APC’s recent victories in bye-elections in states usually dominated by the PDP as proof that Nigerians trust Tinubu’s leadership.
“The fact that we can secure victory in PDP states shows that Nigerians believe in the progressive agenda of President Tinubu and the APC,” he said.
On allegations that his department had been sidelined in party primaries, Argungu dismissed them. He said his team had since 2022 introduced innovations that improved teamwork and transparency.
He also assured that the governorship primary in Ekiti State will be open to all.
“So far, four aspirants, including the serving governor, have purchased forms. Two are men, while two are women, who benefited from the party’s gender-sensitive policy that grants free nomination forms to female aspirants,” he said.
