Abuja, Nigeria – A former presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Charles Udeogaranya, who contested in the 2019 election, has strongly criticized the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) and governors for their recent public endorsement of President Bola Tinubu as the party’s sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election.
Udeogaranya argued on Friday that bypassing a primary election process, similar to the one through which President Tinubu emerged as the party’s flagbearer in 2023, unfairly stifles the aspirations of other potential candidates. He contended that these aspirants could bring fresh ideas and leadership needed to foster creativity, nationalism, and prosperity in Nigeria.
He conveyed his concerns in a statement issued to newsmen in Abuja.
His reaction comes just a day after the 22 APC governors and the party leadership collectively backed President Tinubu during the APC National Summit held at the State House Banquet Hall in Abuja.
The endorsement was formally announced on Thursday by the Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma. Governor Uzodimma moved the motion for Tinubu’s adoption, which was seconded by the PGF Vice Chairman and Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani.
Reacting pointedly, Udeogaranya insisted there should be “no room for automatic tickets” within the APC. He vehemently stated, “There is no room for consensus in continuous hunger, chronic poverty, economic quagmire, insecurity, nepotism, cluelessness and in the leadership of Nigeria.
Consensus is far from it.” He referenced historical figures like Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King Jr., asserting that the principles of democracy they championed would prevail in Nigeria by 2027.
In response to the criticism, the Deputy National Organising Secretary, Nze Chidi Duru, defended the party’s position, arguing that the ruling party acted appropriately. Duru stated, “The President has a right of first refusal. If he, however, declines the offer to run for a second term in office, we can then be talking about a primary.”
