The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has warned aspirants and party members that anyone found fomenting violence or engaging in anti-party activities ahead of the forthcoming primaries risks immediate suspension.
The warning, issued on Monday through a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy, Abimbola Tooki, comes at a critical period in Nigerian political life, as the ruling party gears up for what is widely expected to be a fiercely contested primary season, one that will set the stage for the 2027 general elections.
Speaking in unusually direct terms, Yilwatda made clear that the party’s leadership would not stand idly by as personal political ambitions threatened to tear at the fabric of internal party cohesion.
Violence, unrest, anti-party activities, and any deliberate attempts to undermine the integrity of the primary process were all squarely in the crosshairs of the chairman’s rebuke.
“Any aspirant or supporter found instigating violence or sponsoring disorder during the exercise will face disciplinary measures, including immediate suspension from the party,” the statement read, a message that landed with the weight of a formal decree from party headquarters.
The tone was unmistakable: the APC, Nigeria’s dominant ruling party, intends to conduct its primaries on its own terms, and it will not be held hostage by the excesses of overzealous candidates or their foot soldiers.
In what may be the most politically resonant line from the chairman’s address, Yilwatda appealed directly to the competitive instincts and, perhaps more pointedly, the egos of the party’s aspirants.
“In every democratic contest, only one person will emerge victorious. What is important is the spirit with which the process is approached,” he said.
It is a statement that reads as both a philosophical reminder and a thinly veiled caution: ambition is acceptable; impunity is not. The APC, Yilwatda insisted, has worked too hard to build its reputation as a nationally accepted political platform to allow individual self-interest to override the collective good.
The chairman’s appeal for maturity and sportsmanship signals growing anxiety within the party’s top echelon about the potential for post-primary fallouts, a recurring ailment in Nigerian party politics, where defeated aspirants have historically defected, sponsored parallel structures, or mobilized their supporters against the party’s official candidates.
Beneath the disciplinary posturing lies a broader strategic calculation. Yilwatda’s statement pointedly linked the conduct of the primaries to the APC’s electoral fortunes in 2027, reminding members that President Bola Tinubu’s ongoing infrastructure projects and economic reforms represent the party’s central campaign narrative going into the next election cycle.
By urging party members and stakeholders to rally behind the Tinubu administration and avoid tension-creating actions, the chairman was, in effect, issuing a call for unity at a time when the party can least afford internal fractures.
With the 2027 elections looming ever larger on the political horizon, any perception of disarray within the APC could prove costly both at the polls and in the court of public opinion.
Rounding out his statement, Yilwatda reaffirmed the party leadership’s commitment to fairness, inclusiveness, and internal cohesion throughout the primary process, assurances that, while standard in political communications, carry added significance given the charged atmosphere surrounding the primaries.
Whether those assurances will be enough to keep a lid on the inevitable tensions of a competitive primary season remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: the APC’s national leadership has drawn its lines in the sand, and it is watching closely.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
The APC’s national leadership has drawn a firm line ahead of its party primaries. Behave, or face the consequences. Chairman Yilwatda’s warning is essentially a message that internal democracy must be respected, personal ambition must not override party unity, and the road to 2027 begins with orderly, credible primaries.
For a ruling party already navigating the pressures of governance, how it manages this primary season could well determine whether it enters the next general election as a united force or a fractured one.
