There is growing tension within the All Progressives Congress (APC) as members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) move to resist President Bola Tinubu’s directive granting state governors significant control over party tickets ahead of the primaries.

An uneasy calm pervades the party, with findings indicating a widening rift between the presidency and the APC leadership.

Insiders warn that the directive risks eroding the authority of the party’s central structure, weakening internal democracy and triggering widespread disaffection across states.

The development followed Tinubu’s conferment of powers on the 31 governors under the APC to decide the fate of aspirants in their states ahead of the 2027 general election.

Sources within the NWC told THE WHISTLER that the president’s position, which effectively empowers governors to determine candidates in their states, has sidelined the party leadership and undermined its relevance.

“What the president has done is to remove powers from the party leadership, make them redundant and kill the party,” an NWC member said.

Consequently, multiple sources disclosed that some within the NWC are already weighing options to push back against the directive, including leveraging aggrieved aspirants as a pressure point to force a rethink.

According to one official, “If this stands, the party structure becomes irrelevant. There are already suggestions that those who feel shortchanged should be allowed to ventilate their grievances, even if it unsettles the system, in order to compel a reversal.”

The controversy follows recent remarks by President Tinubu in which he signalled that state governors should take the lead in determining party candidates ahead of the primaries, arguing that they best understand the political dynamics within their states and should therefore guide the process.

The president said this was necessary to preserve the party’s unity and cohesion ahead of the poll in 2027.

However, party insiders insist the pronouncement has had unintended consequences, emboldening state-level power blocs, intensifying rivalries, and triggering open contests for control.

Infighting Spreads Across States

The directive has already fuelled internal battles in several states and widened already existing crises in some states. In Abia State, a fierce supremacy contest has erupted between Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, and former governor, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, with both men laying claim to presidential backing as the party’s leader in the state.

Abia is led by a governor under the platform of the Labour Party, Dr Alex Otti.

The Deputy Speaker said he has been chosen by Tinubu to lead the APC in the state.

Orji Uzor Kalu – an outspoken campaigner for Tinubu’s second term – has dismissed the claims, insisting that Tinubu chose him to lead the party in the state.

Delta, Nasarawa Crises Deepen

In Delta State, the directive has intensified a brewing contest between Senator Ifeanyi Okowa and former Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege. Governor Sheriff Oborevwori is reportedly backing Okowa, his predecessor, for a return to the Senate – placing him at odds with Omo-Agege and his loyalists.

A serving commissioner in the state hinted that all three serving senators may fail to secure return tickets, a development that has heightened anxiety and uncertainty among party stakeholders.

Party leaders argue that such outcomes reflect the diminishing role of the NWC in ensuring fairness and balance.

“All the privileges and influence tied to purchasing tickets and conducting primaries have been lost,” an NWC member lamented. “Rather than creating a level playing field, the president has made things difficult by lighting an over-dried grass.”

In Nasarawa State, a similar crisis is unfolding. Governor Abdullahi Sule’s alleged backing of Senator Ahmed Wadada – who only recently defected from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) – has sparked resistance among long-standing party members.

Former Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu Idris, has rejected the governor’s position and is preparing to challenge the arrangement, with the backing of former governor Tanko Al-Makura, setting the stage for a high-stakes internal showdown.

Cross River, Others on Edge

In Cross River State, tensions are also mounting as founding members of the party push back against recent defectors, insisting they should have priority in the allocation of tickets.

They are reportedly pressuring Governor Bassey Otu to sideline new entrants from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a move that could reshape the state’s political calculations.

As a result, figures like Senator Jarigbe Agom are said to be at risk of losing out to former governor Ben Ayade, while several House of Representatives seats – particularly in northern Cross River – are being pencilled in for long-standing party members as compensation.

The development has created palpable tension, with defectors threatening a showdown if denied fair opportunities.

Warning Signs from Party Leadership

The crisis is not limited to a few states. Similar fault lines are reportedly emerging in Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Enugu, Benue, Kwara, Lagos, Ogun and Ondo, raising concerns about a nationwide ripple effect ahead of the primaries.

In Rivers State, the contest which portends danger for the APC is between the Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike. Wike was instrumental to the emergence of Tinubu as president while Fubara is the party leader as a governor in the state.

With the president’s pronouncement, Fubara camp said they have been given the upper hand, which would pit him against Wike.

However, some APC leaders in the state have said there is likely to be a sharing formula where the Governor will concede some candidates to the Wike-led PDP as the APC, including the president, would not allow the APC to lose out completely during the elections in the state.

Meanwhile, in Benue, the power struggle is between Governor Hyacinth Alia and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, which has effectively split the party’s structure in the state and forced elected officials to take sides.

Party sources have expressed worries that the struggle portends danger and could imperil the prospects of the party in 2027.

Similarly, in Plateau State, the Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, who decamped from the PDP to the APC, is seen as an outsider who wants to usurp power and has been told by the old guards that he would have no control over the party tickets despite the president’s directive.

In Akwa Ibom State, the conflict is between the governor and the third most powerful constitutional officer, Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

Akpabio, as the presiding officer of the Senate and the leader of the delegation that went to Tinubu to lobby unsuccessfully for automatic tickets, carries with him the institutional prestige of an office that the President’s directive has now, in effect, subordinated to that of his home-state governor.

That this arrangement has begun to generate friction.

The senators’ meeting with Tinubu, at which the plea for automatic tickets was rebuffed, was led by Akpabio, who returned from that encounter with the knowledge that the President had, in effect, signalled that the governor of Akwa Ibom, not the Senate President, would determine who gets the APC ticket in that state.

A member of the APC National Executive Committee (NEC) warned that the directive could significantly weaken the party’s electoral strength, as aggrieved members may withdraw from mobilisation efforts.

“No one would be interested again in mobilising for the party because they would be aggrieved that they lost out unfairly,” the source said.

He added that “party politics is dicey and tricky and requires careful management, not pronouncements that can unsettle unity and give the opposition the opportunity to capitalise and wreak havoc.”

When contacted, the spokesman of the APC, Felix Morka expressed reservations about making comments that he may be misunderstood. Questions sent to him for further comments were not answered.