APC Defends Candidate Substitutions, Says 720 Petitions Reviewed

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has defended its controversial substitution of some candidates after its primaries, insisting that the changes followed a legitimate internal appeal process.

Naija News reports that the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said the decisions were reached after reviewing more than 720 petitions submitted by aggrieved aspirants.

Speaking on Arise TV on Tuesday, Morka dismissed allegations that the ruling party arbitrarily replaced candidates or handed tickets to people who did not participate in the primaries.

Morka said the APC acted in line with its constitution and guidelines.

He said, “We received over 720 petitions from those who contested in that election. And these petitions were reviewed by the appeal committees. Recommendations were made to the National Working Committee.

“But the National Working Committee of our party, in its wisdom, also took responsibility to review the report of the appeal committees and to re-evaluate those cases. And at the end of them, we made those changes that you are discussing. So these are legitimate outcomes of our primaries.”

Responding to claims that the party violated the Electoral Act by substituting candidates after the primaries, Morka said a primary election goes beyond voting and includes post-election dispute resolution.

Morka further stated, “Primary election is a process. It’s not an event that the appeal process is an integral part of the primary election process. It’s not a separate process. And it’s not a process invented by the party to cause mischief.”

He also denied knowledge of any case in which individuals who did not buy forms, undergo screening, or participate in the primaries were given tickets.

The APC official added, “I’m not aware of any such case that you are alluding to about those who didn’t participate, who never bought forms, who were not screened, who didn’t participate in primaries, all of a sudden handed tickets.

“Look, I’m not aware. If you have any such example, please mention it, and I will go back and do my own investigation.”

APC Reaching Aggrieved Aspirants

Morka admitted that dissatisfaction was natural in competitive contests but said the party had taken steps to review complaints fairly.

He said, “When they don’t win, naturally, some people definitely have a reason to be dissatisfied. And this is why we took our time to go through these appeal processes to make sure that there was no case we didn’t give the time of day to thoroughly review.”

He noted that only one person could emerge as the flag bearer in each contest.

According to Morka, “What we say to them is that not everyone can be a flag bearer. Our engagements are on already to reach individuals like this, to reassure them that this is not personal, nothing has been done that is arbitrary. Nobody has just been favoured with tickets.”

Morka also dismissed allegations that the review process was used to settle political scores in states where governors were locked in power struggles with other influential party figures.

“Primaries are not infallible. Primaries are not immune to irregularities. The system, the law, everything already expects that sometimes things don’t go right, so there must be a mechanism to review that when others complain,” he said.

He questioned why the party would deliberately overturn its members’ wishes against any sitting governor.

“What exactly would be the party’s incentive to just intentionally and deliberately miscarry the election against a sitting governor?” he asked.

‘APC Not Afraid Of Opposition’

Responding to suggestions that the APC was anxious ahead of the next general election despite controlling most states, Morka said the party remained confident.

Morka said, “All the elections conducted in this country since the 2023 general elections, we have won them, including the most recent elections, we won massively, bigly, to use the words of Donald Trump.”

He dismissed claims that the ruling party feared the opposition.

Morka added, “We are working hard to win the next election, as we’ve won in all the by-elections. The idea that we’re afraid is utterly ridiculous. We are working hard to win the next election.”