A former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Yekini Nabena, on Wednesday cautioned the party’s National Working Committee against ceding control of its structures to incumbent governors ahead of the forthcoming nationwide congresses.
The APC is set to conduct ward, local government and state congresses to determine its leadership structure at the grassroots and state levels in preparation for the 2027 general elections.
Nabena, a party chieftain from Bayelsa State, warned that allowing governors to take charge of the structures could spark internal crisis and further weaken the party’s support base.
In a statement issued in Abuja, he said handing over party structures from the wards to the state level to governors would “breed resentment, deprive real party men and women, and eventually chase away the few remaining masses in the APC.”
He cautioned that the 2027 elections would be driven by popular participation, stressing that party members must be carried along.
“The 2027 general elections are about the masses against the few people in the corridors of power, hence the masses must be carried along,” he said.
Nabena claimed that information available at the APC national secretariat suggested that the current NWC, led by Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, was preparing to hand over party structures to governors in their respective states.
“We will not be surprised if this prediction comes true because the National Chairman himself and more than half of the entire NWC didn’t go through election. They were appointed. So, what do you expect?” he said.
He urged the NWC to ensure transparency in the conduct of the congresses by making nomination forms accessible to all aspirants at every level to avoid friction and litigation across the states and the Federal Capital Territory.
According to him, reports indicate that nomination forms were being delivered to governors, who would determine candidates through selection rather than election.
“As the party prepares for congresses, the report we are getting is that all the nomination forms are being delivered to the Governors – who will eventually determine who becomes what by selection.
This will not end well. In fact, it will be the beginning of an internal crisis which may lead to implosion,” he said.
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He appealed to the NWC to reconsider the move and called on party elders and leaders to intervene to prevent what he described as a looming crisis.
Nabena also urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to step in to forestall internal discord within the ruling party.
He expressed concern over what he described as a decline in party membership, claiming that the APC, which once had about 40 million registered members, was now struggling to record 10 million members in the ongoing electronic registration exercise.
“This calls for caution and we must be wise to do the right thing now,” he added.