Party officials have monetized APC primaries – North-Central Forum cries out

Ahead of the commencement of the primaries of the All Progressives Congress, APC, with Saturday’s House of Representatives primary elections, the North-Central APC Forum has raised the alarm that the exercise has been commercialised by party officials.

The APC House of Representatives primaries was initially fixed for Friday, May 15, 2026. But the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, in a statement late on Thursday, May 14, 2026, announced that the exercise has been moved to Saturday, May 16, 2026.

No reason was given for the shift in date.

However, in a statement by its Chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, on Friday, the North-Central APC Forum said the postponement was a direct consequence of the monetization of the process.

Noting that President Bola Tinubu had called for free and fair primaries devoid of rancour and violence, the North-Central APC Forum condemned the alleged commercialisation of the primaries and warned national officers of the party against destroying the APC by poor handling of the exercise.

The Forum observed that barely 24 hours to the new date set for the exercise, the list of aspirants cleared to participate in the primaries has not been released.

The group said it has credible information that national officers of the party are going round the states collecting money from aspirants while promising them APC tickets for the general elections.

President Bola Tinubu had on Friday urged APC members to prioritize unity and sportsmanship in the nationwide primaries, warning against rancorous conduct that could undermine the party’s strength ahead of the 2026 general elections.

In the statement signed by Zazzaga, the North-Central APC Forum backed Tinubu’s admonition but added that national officers of the party should be called to order, to desist from actions that could lead to crisis ahead of the general elections.

According to the Forum, feelers from the states already indicate that many influential party members are feeling sidelined due to what it described as “self-centered, commercially motivated actions of party officials”.

The statement said, “The North-Central APC Forum has observed with regrets that the forthcoming primary elections have already been monetized by party officials and that is why they are shifting the date from one day to another.

“There is no other reason for the shift in date other than it being a direct consequence of the monetization of the primaries. They don’t want to conduct free and fair primary elections because they have ulterior motives, hence they are shifting the date in order to concretize their plans.

“We, the North-Central APC Forum, are warning the national officers to be careful. They should not kill our party in pursuit of their selfish agenda.

“We are calling on all the authorities to be very vigilant because the process has already been commercialised and compromised.

“What they are doing now is they are sending officials to various states to collect money from aspirants and promise them party tickets instead of making sound arrangements for free and fair primary elections.

“That is why they have not released the list of those that were screened to participate in the primaries. That is part of the delay tactics they are using to ensure that they give tickets to those they collected money from.”

The Forum pointed to the situation in Rivers State, where several aspirants, said to be linked to the state governor, Sim Fubara, were reportedly disqualified.

Noting that the screening process in Rivers was compromised, the APC Forum said similar situation is playing out in various states. It warned that the party risks being destabilized before the general elections in 2027, if the national officers are not called to order.

Party officials have monetized APC primaries – North-Central Forum cries out