2027: Knocks, Kudos Over APC’s Automatic Tickets Brouhaha

Ndifereke BASSEY

The purported breaking news report penultimate week saying that All Progressives Congress (APC) has grant automatic tickets to all National Assembly members ahead of 2027 general election was greeted with mixed reactions within the party.  The report credited the news story to APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, who announced it and claimed that the decision was backed by President Bola Tinubu.

But this report has received some knocks and kudos from various stakeholders. While some described such move as undemocratic, others see it a move to stabilise the already heated political system. A few said it is not news as the defunct ANPP, PDP and other parties have at one time or the other granted automatic their elected political officers to the incumbent.

Recall that all the 22 governors who are members of the APC, all its members in the National Assembly, and its National Working Committee (NWC), alongside zonal leaderships recently endorsed and adopted President Tinubu as the party’s sole candidate for the 2027 election.

Tinubu was formally adopted as the sole presidential candidate of the APC during the party’s National Summit held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. This is barely two years into his administration and despite the fact that the president is yet to formally announce his intention to seek re-election

The summit, themed “Renewed Hope Agenda: The Journey So Far,” saw overwhelming support from key party stakeholders, including governors, members of the National Assembly and the party’s National Working Committee (NWC). Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF) and governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma, announced the unanimous endorsement of the President by all the 22 APC governors. 

Following Uzodinma’s announcement, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, announced that the APC members in the National Assembly also endorsed Tinubu for a second term.

National Chairman of the APC, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje also announced that the party’s NWC endorsed Tinubu for re-election.

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, who also chairs the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), said Nigeria was on the right path with Tinubu at the helm. 

Speaking on behalf of all 36 state governors, AbdulRazaq defended the APC’s choice of Tinubu as its 2023 presidential candidate and highlighted his administration’s achievements over the past two years, urging Nigerians to support the president’s policies and programmes going forward.

Earlier on May 18, APC leaders from the North West gathered in Kaduna where they endorsed the president. The meeting was attended by the APC National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, and governors from the region including Uba Sani (Kaduna), Nasir Idris (Kebbi), and Umar Namadi (Jigawa). Similar endorsements were also done in other quarters in the country. 

Following Tinubu’s adoption, federal lawmakers and state governors who are in their first term on the platform of the APC have high hopes that they would also be given automatic tickets. President Tinubu had also raised their hope during the presentation of the 2025 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly when he said, “You are all re-elected.” Presenting the budget for the 2025 fiscal year to the lawmakers in December last year, President Tinubu jokingly told the legislators that they were all re-elected. 

Tinubu had also erroneously referred to the 10th National Assembly as the 11th National Assembly during his presentation. But the lawmakers drew the president’s attention to the error.

Following this, there was furore in the House of Representatives chamber where the joint session was held, prompting the president to say, “Which means you are re-elected.” When the lawmakers heard the president’s remark, they started singing, “On your mandate we shall stand…”

Knocks trail automatic tickets plot for APC NASS Members

However, on getting wind of the news report of NASS members’ automatic tickets, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) swiftly reacted, saying “no automatic tickets for its first term members at the National Assembly.” The APC National Publicity Secretary, Barrister Felix Morka, in a statement said: “The attention of the APC has been drawn to a purported ‘breaking news report tagged, ‘APC grants automatic tickets to all National Assembly members’ in viral circulation. The report is fake news and should be disregarded in its entirety as it did not emanate from our great party. We urge all party members and the general public to disregard the report as fake and of mischievous origin.”

Reacting to the APC position, a member of the House of Representatives from Benue State, Terseer Ugbor, said blanket automatic tickets to all members of the National Assembly by the APC in 2027 may not be feasible and practicable due to certain dynamics. The lawmaker, who represents Kwande/Ushongo federal constituency on the platform of the APC, said there was a need for the party to tread carefully on the issue of automatic tickets for National Assembly members seeking a return ahead of the 2027 elections.

Citing global democratic practices, the lawmaker emphasised the value of legislative experience, noting that in mature democracies like the United States, long-serving legislators often bring institutional memory and expertise that strengthen governance. However, he acknowledged the peculiar Nigerian context, where high turnover in the National Assembly has become a recurring trend.

“In the current Assembly, about 70% of the members are new. The same thing happened in the 9th Assembly. So it’s understandable that returning lawmakers may seek preferential consideration during party primaries,” stressing that granting automatic tickets to all incumbents would be unrealistic for a number of reasons.

“There are those who have served for multiple terms—three, four, even ten years—and their constituents may desire change. You can’t force continuity on people if they want something new. Besides, some lawmakers may aspire to move from the House of Representatives to the Senate, and others may face internal party dynamics like zoning arrangements that could complicate any attempt at automatic endorsement.

He added, “It’s a good initiative in principle—preserving parliamentary experience—but the party must factor in local dynamics. Automatic tickets shouldn’t be applied across board,” he said. Also speaking, a law maker, Bello El-Rufai (APC, Kaduna) said: “I have no view because my focus is on representing my people very well and not an election you and I might not be alive to witness.”

Kudos to automatic tickets

Supporting automatic tickets, a political analyst, Jackson Lekan Ojo, described the party’s decision as “a good omen for democracy”, saying by ruling out automatic ticket for federal lawmakers, the APC has averted crisis that would have engulfed it ahead of the 2027 elections. 

He said, “In the APC, there are people that contested in 2015 and they lost. They contested again in 2019 and they didn’t make it. Some still contested in the 2023 election. But they never sabotaged or betrayed the party. They are hoping that one day they will make it. “They are still working for the party. Then somebody will just come in because he lost relevance in his domain and then you issue him an automatic ticket? No.” he said.

Endorsing automatic second-term tickets for All Progressives Congress (APC) governors and federal lawmakers will consolidate democracy, a socio-political group, Northern Patriotic Front (NPF), said it is in line with democratic best practices, as it is done in established political systems.

Chairman of NPF, Alhaji Ali Abacha, said: “From Washington to Westminster, continuity is the cornerstone of vibrant democracies. It is time Nigeria embraced this reality by ensuring that experienced lawmakers and visionary leaders continue to shape our democratic journey.

“We call on the leadership of the APC to demonstrate statesmanship by institutionalising this bold policy of automatic tickets for the President, all sitting APC governors eligible for re-election, and all serving APC legislators in the National Assembly,” he said.

The NPF urged Nigerians across all party lines to rally behind President Tinubu and resist efforts by “disgruntled opposition elements fanning the embers of disunity. We must promote inclusivity, unity, and strategic continuity. The time for political brinkmanship is over. The future of our democracy demands experience, cohesion, and vision,” the group said.

As lawmakers who adopted Tinubu expect automatic tickets

Reacting to the development, a chieftain of the APC from the North East said the endorsement of President Tinubu as automatic candidate of the party has created serious problems, stressing that the lawmakers who endorsed Tinubu are also expecting automatic tickets. 

He said: “All the first time governors, members of the Senate, House of Representatives and the State Assemblies that stamped the endorsement of the President are expecting corresponding endorsement by the president and the APC for them to have automatic tickets. 

“They are not expecting anything less, and the party cannot tell them anything and they will accept. This is indirectly closing the doors to a fair contest. It also means non-performing elected representatives would have no problem of coming back simply because they endorsed the return of the president. This is a recipe for chaos.

“There are popular contestants who lost because of one reason or the other in 2023; they will not accept any compromise now. People are just forgetting about the dangers of the endorsement of President Tinubu in isolation; which to me is being spearheaded by some selfish leaders without putting the larger picture in perspective.

“What they did was just self-serving, which at the end of the day, the whole thing will hurt the APC as a party. This has never happened in our political history because the democratic foundation of the party has been completely eroded.”