APC Reverses Consensus Primaries After Nationwide Protests

The All Progressives Congress reversed its consensus primary election policy on May 14, 2026, after widespread internal resistance boiled over into violence and dissent across multiple states. The party's National Working Committee in Abuja announced the shift to direct primaries, and the Organising Department immediately dispatched election materials and result sheets to all states to implement the new mode.

The policy reversal followed escalating unrest. In Kogi State, the party had finalized arrangements for House of Representatives primaries across nine federal constituencies, with consensus agreements already reached in Lokoja/Kogi, Ajaokuta, and Dekina/Bassa. But elsewhere, consensus arrangements sparked fierce opposition. Hundreds of aggrieved APC members stormed the party's state secretariat in Ibadan, rejecting alleged candidate imposition and guided primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections. The two-hour rampage forced party executives and aspirants from the building, damaged the secretariat and private vehicles, and required security intervention. Protesters specifically targeted lawmaker Tolulope Akande-Sadipe over her third-term ambitions and cited poor performance.

Resistance to consensus extended well beyond Oyo State. In Kebbi State, senatorial aspirant Kabir Sani Giant publicly rejected a consensus arrangement for the Kebbi Central District, declaring his readiness to contest against Senator Adamu Aliero. Similar opposition surfaced in Gombe, Nasarawa, Yobe, and Benue states. In Ibadan, supporters of Adebayo Adelabu protested the endorsement of Senator Sharafadeen Alli as a consensus governorship candidate. Aspirants like Gbolagade Abiodun demanded direct primaries to ensure internal democracy, while party publicity secretary Olawale Sadare condemned the secretariat attackers as armed hoodlums.