2027: Again, APC Speaks On Tinubu’s Adoption As Consensus Candidate 

By Olumuyiwa Olumuyiwa

The All Progressive Congress (APC) has given reasons for the  adoption of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the party’s consensus candidate for the presidential election slated by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) for January 16, 2027.

The ruling party said its decision to adopt the incumbent president for the forthcoming election is a reflection of the internal democracy upheld by the executives and other stakeholders of the party.

The Deputy National Organising Secretary of the APC, Chidi Duru, said this during an interview with PUNCH newspaper on Sunday.

Duru noted that Tinubu has delivered on the mandate of the APC while using the party’s manifesto as compass stressing that the president’s position would give him an edge over any other contestant.

He added that the president’s unsurpassed performance has endeared him to the party’s stakeholders hence the unanimous decision to allow him contest on the platform of the APC again.

Duru, however, noted that any other bonafide member of the party interested in vying for  the highest political office in the country would not be disqualified from the race against the incumbent president for the party’s ticket. He added that it would be welcome development and a test of that person’s popularity in the ruling party.

“It is not that we are likely, we will have a consensus. That is an indication of the APC being a democratic party. But should it happen that there is a member of the party who would like to throw his hat in the ring? He is more than welcome,” Duru said.

He continued, “The reason for this, and I have always advocated that, is the call on political parties to ensure that those they give the ticket of the party are those who will carry out to the fullest its ideology and manifesto to the tilt. Because if they do, they will then be re-elected. They will have the right of first refusal, and they will be the people who will be presented to the electorate to vote for them.

“But if they are unpopular candidates, that is if they are people who did not perform to the liking of the citizens, it means that the political party can’t risk having those people occupying the offices, whether it is a national legislative office or executive office.

“The tendency will mean that the party will lose that election. So, it is a call to duty, and that is what then recommends the option of first right of refusal,” he said.

Recall that the ruling party has scheduled its national convention, which will be held in Abuja, for March 27 and March 28, 2026.