Don’t Surrender Party Structures to Governors, APC Chieftain Warns New National Chairman

A former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Yekini Nabena, has cautioned the party’s National Working Committee against handing over control of party structures to incumbent governors ahead of the forthcoming nationwide congresses.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday, Nabena appealed to the NWC led by Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda to resist any move that would allow governors to determine leadership positions at the ward, local government, and state levels.

The APC is preparing to conduct congresses that will shape the party’s grassroots and state leadership structures ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Nabena warned that ceding control to governors would trigger internal crisis, breed resentment, and further shrink the party’s already declining support base.

“Handing over party structures from the wards to the state level to governors will breed resentment, deprive real party men and women, and eventually chase away the few remaining masses in the APC,” he said.

He stressed that the 2027 elections would be a contest between the masses and those in power, insisting that ordinary party members must be carried along.

Nabena expressed concern that information from the party’s national secretariat suggested the current NWC was preparing to hand over structures to governors in their respective states.

He questioned the legitimacy of the NWC, noting that the National Chairman and more than half of its members were appointed rather than elected.

“So, what do you expect?” he asked.

The APC chieftain urged the NWC to ensure transparency by making nomination forms available to all aspirants at every level to avoid friction and litigation across states and the Federal Capital Territory.

He said the current NWC members required proper guidance because many of them did not understand what it took to contest and win elective positions.

“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.

Nabena appealed to party elders and leaders to call the NWC to order before it proceeded in error.

He also called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene and forestall what he described as a looming internal implosion.

“APC used to have about 40 million registered members but now we are struggling to get 10 million registered members in the ongoing electronic registration. This calls for caution and we must be wise to do the right thing now,” he added.