APC at a crossroads: The urgency of internal reforms — by Okoi Obono-Obla
It is clear that if urgent steps are not taken by the founding fathers of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the party risks implosion. Those currently controlling the levers of power are perceived as unfair and lawless. How can the party, in this era of democracy and under the innovations introduced by the Electoral Act 2026—which has further democratized internal party affairs—exclude aspirants who have paid for forms to contest in the National Convention?
The rigging of the Convention began with the National Executive Committee’s decision to maintain the zoning formula used in 2022, instead of revising it to make the process more inclusive. For example, in 2022 the position of National Women Leader was zoned to Cross River State. However, when the incumbent resigned in 2023 to take up a ministerial appointment, rather than appointing a replacement from Cross River, someone from Edo State was chosen. This denied Akwa Ibom and Cross River States representation in the National Working Committee (NWC), while Delta and Edo States (the old Mid-Western Region) ended up with two positions, excluding Akwa Ibom and Cross River (formerly part of the old Eastern Region).
One would have expected this imbalance to be corrected in 2026, but last week the National Executive Committee announced that the 2022 zoning formula would again be maintained for the forthcoming convention. To make matters worse, an aspirant who purchased a form for ₦5.1 million to contest the position of National Vice Chairman (South-South) was deliberately denied the form and has now taken the matter to court.
It is clear that those presently in the NEC want to perpetuate themselves in office and have lost all sense of decency. The same disease that has afflicted leaders in Cameroon, Uganda, Equatorial Guinea, and Eritrea appears to have contaminated them. This tendency to cling to power undermines the democratic ideals the APC claims to uphold.
It is high time the leaders of the APC ruminate, reflect, and act decisively to quench the simmering fire within the party. Failure to do so may erode its credibility, weaken its democratic foundations, and ultimately fracture its unity. The moment calls for courage, fairness, and reform—without which the APC risks becoming a cautionary tale in Nigeria’s democratic journey.
