The All Progressives Congress (APC) affirmed that members planning to run for the 2027 presidency will not be excluded, even though the party has endorsed President Bola Tinubu for another term.
During a press engagement at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, Sulaiman Argungu, the APC’s National Organising Secretary, explained that leadership—including the National Working Committee (NWC), the Progressives Governors Forum led by Hope Uzodinma, and the National Assembly leadership under Godswill Akpabio—endorsed Tinubu as a recognition of his strong performance.
He emphasized that despite this endorsement, other aspirants will still be allowed to participate in the presidential primaries.
“We will definitely not close our doors (other presidential aspirants). When the time comes, our timetable will be made known,” Argungu said.
“Anybody who wants to aspire for the presidency under the APC will not be denied the opportunity to purchase the expression of interest and nomination forms to exercise their franchise.
“We never said we had locked the door. We are only telling people that we appreciate what the president is doing for the people of the country and that he deserves a second term in office when we roundly endorsed him recently.”
Differentiating the APC from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Argungu added that the APC would not replicate the PDP’s approach of issuing just one nomination form to Goodluck Jonathan in 2014, making him the sole aspirant.
Reflecting on the party’s recent success in by-elections—winning 13 out of 16 contested seats—Argungu noted that this outcome demonstrated the level of confidence Nigerians continue to place in the APC.
