The National Secretary of the All Progressive Congress, (APC), Senator Ajibola Basiru has described the party’s ongoing primaries as peaceful, inclusive and transparent, praising members’ active participation across the country.
He said this while speaking in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday.
“I think I will score our party very high in terms of organization and in terms of the outcome of the exercise. By and large, the exercise has been very peaceful, the exercise has been very inclusive, and the exercise has been very engaging, and of course, allowing the party members from across the breadth and length and breadth of the country to take charge of the processes itself,” he stated.
Responding to concerns about possible irregularities, Senator Basiru acknowledged that no electoral process can be completely perfect, stressing that credibility is judged by substantial compliance with established rules.
“There is no perfection. In Nigeria, there’s always what they call “test of substantiality” to determine whether the election is credible or not,” he explained.
Addressing allegations that governors and influential figures imposed candidates during the primaries, the APC National Secretary argued that democracy ultimately depends on popular support at the grassroots level.
“Democracy is about the people. And there are people who have already invested their time, energy, and resources in being able to say that where they are going, the mass of the people will follow them.”
Reacting to concerns about governors allegedly dominating party structures and determining candidates, Basiru dismissed such claims as largely perception-driven. He argued that critics must provide specific examples of where governors’ interference actually prevented internal democracy from taking place.
“It’s not just enough for people to engage in what logicians call the fallacy of hasty generalization. You must be able to tell me in which state, in which local government, in which ward has this executive authoritarianism manifested itself?”, he quizzed.
A governor is a politician; you cannot say he will not have a preference. When he does, he will use his own acceptability, reach, and resources to mobilize for whatever preference he has. I don’t regard that as executive high-handedness,”
Basiru stated that governors, as politicians, are naturally entitled to support preferred aspirants and mobilise their political influence, reach and resources in their favour.
“A governor is a politician; you cannot say he will not have a preference. When he does, he will use his own acceptability, reach, and resources to mobilize for whatever preference he has. I don’t regard that as executive high-handedness,” he insisted.
Responding to questions about the alleged influence of Nyesom Wike in APC affairs in Rivers State, Basiru rejected claims that candidates emerging from the primaries were directly controlled by the FCT Minister. He argued that political allies of individuals outside the APC still have the constitutional right to pursue their ambitions within the ruling party.
“You cannot empirically say that those who have won primary elections in the APC in Rivers State are linked to the umbilical cord of Minister Nyesom Wike. Everyone will be screened; everyone will aspire in his own name. Till tomorrow, Mr. Nyesom Wike has not said—and is not—a member of the APC. But the fact that he is not a member does not mean that people who are his allies will not decide to ventilate their political aspiration within the APC. Aside from the People’s Democratic Party, the only veritable machinery for winning an election in Nigeria today is the APC,” he argued.
The APC National Secretary denied claims that the party manipulated the outcome of its primaries through the centralisation of results, insisting that the process was designed to ensure fairness and address complaints before final announcements were made.
“I don’t think that is a correct submission. The circular stated that results would be declared and collated, but the final announcement would be done at the National Headquarters. The logic is for us to be able to look at whatever complaint might have been addressed before a final pronouncement. Rather than seeing it as a way to undermine the process, it should be seen as a way to safeguard it and ensure the process receives fair treatment,” he insisted.
Reaffirming the transparency of the process, Basiru said the involvement of the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) ensures continuous oversight of the primaries, adding that winners are properly recorded at every stage of the exercise before any final announcement is made.
“We are bound to do so because the Electoral Act mandates all political parties to inform INEC to monitor the processes. Whatever we are doing is being simultaneously monitored by the Independent Electoral Commission. There is always a default mentioning of those who have won that particular primary, so there is enough safeguard.”
Speaking on women’s inclusion in APC politics, Sen. Basiru said Nigeria’s electoral system makes it difficult to enforce gender quotas, but expressed optimism that greater empowerment and participation would gradually improve women’s representation in politics.
“I think to pigeonhole the challenge of women’s inclusivity in politics to Nigeria would be unfair. Globally, and I say unfortunately, women are still largely at the periphery of politics,” he acknowledged.
“I believe as they continue to get empowered economically, as they continue to get empowered in terms of access to resources, as they continue to get exposed to the intricacies of politics, they will get more and more represented,” he said.
He added that the APC is not satisfied with the current level of female representation from the primaries, but remains optimistic that greater engagement, empowerment, and cultural shifts will improve women’s participation over time.
“I am not satisfied. But we believe that we could do more, and we encourage our women to continue to engage in the processes. And we believe that this process will continue until and unless we continue to empower women and we make our politics to be gender-friendly in terms of even the way we organize, we mobilize, and we get them involved in that process. So I’m optimistic that over time, the involvement of women will become better,” Senator Basiru stressed.
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