The All Progressives Congress (APC) has reportedly changed how its candidates will submit polling agents’ names ahead of the 2027 general elections.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) has directed candidates to submit the names directly to the national secretariat in Abuja, bypassing the usual process in which state chapters compile and forward the lists.
The move is aimed at preventing alleged attempts by some governors to undermine APC candidates in their states, amid growing concerns over internal disagreements and possible anti-party activities.
A party chieftain in Akure, Ondo State, disclosed the development, explaining that the directive represents a departure from the party’s usual arrangement, under which state chapters compile polling agents’ lists and forward them to the national secretariat.
According to the source, the new procedure is being enforced mainly in states where the party’s national leadership suspects some governors of supporting candidates contesting against APC flag-bearers on other political platforms.
The development comes amid allegations that some aggrieved APC governors may be backing opposition candidates following disagreements over the party’s National Assembly primaries.
The Oodua Progressive Youths League (OPYL), a South-West political group, had raised concerns over the alleged activities of some governors whose preferred aspirants lost the APC primaries.
In a statement signed by its General Secretary, Wale Abdulwaheed, the group alleged that some of the governors had encouraged their preferred aspirants to obtain tickets from opposition parties and contest against APC candidates in the 2027 elections.
OPYL further claimed that arrangements had been made with opposition parties over the nomination of polling agents, alleging that candidates contesting on other platforms had been instructed to nominate loyalists who remain APC members as polling agents for the ruling party.
The group alleged that the names of such individuals would subsequently be submitted to the APC national secretariat as the party’s official polling agents in the affected states.
A serving member of the National Assembly from Ondo State, who is also an APC candidate for the 2027 elections, confirmed the reported directive but requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
According to the lawmaker, the party’s national leadership had instructed APC candidates in Ondo State to submit their polling agents’ details directly to Abuja, effectively bypassing Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa in the process.
He said the relevant forms had already been distributed to the candidates through the state party chairman, who was instructed not to hand them over to other individuals.
“The national body instructed the state chairman to give us our forms directly, and the chairman himself said he was under instruction not to give the forms to anyone except the candidates,” the lawmaker said.
“He confirmed that Ondo State was specifically told to follow that route.”
The lawmaker added that the APC national leadership was monitoring the activities of governors across the country and could introduce similar arrangements for the distribution of campaign funds.
Under the proposed arrangement, campaign funds could be paid directly to candidates rather than being channelled through governors suspected of supporting opposition candidates, he said.
The lawmaker specifically accused Aiyedatiwa of encouraging some aspirants who lost the APC primaries to seek tickets from other political parties and challenge the ruling party’s candidates.
“It is not hidden that Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa directed some aspirants who lost the APC primaries to seek tickets on other platforms and contest against the party’s candidates,” he alleged.
He cited the emergence of Hon. Matthew Oyerinmade, popularly known as MATO, as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for Ondo South Senatorial District, claiming that some of Aiyedatiwa’s political appointees and party executive members attended Oyerinmade’s declaration.
The lawmaker also alleged that the governor was financing Prince Idowu Mafimisebi, who is contesting the Ilaje/Ese-Odo Federal Constituency seat on the PDP platform.
He further pointed to the attendance of some of the governor’s appointees at a rally organised in Idanre by Hon. Tajudeen Adefisoye, popularly known as Small Alhaji, who is now the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate for the Idanre/Ifedore Federal Constituency.
The lawmaker questioned how the APC could rely on the governor to secure victory for its candidates in 2027 while such allegations remained unresolved.
Aiyedatiwa, however, has denied engaging in anti-party activities, describing those making the allegations against him as “naysayers, blackmailers and slanderers”.
“I have zero tolerance for anti-party activities. I have never engaged in anti-party activities in my life,” the governor said.
The reported move to centralise the selection of polling agents comes amid wider political disagreements over strategies for the 2027 elections and the influence of governors on party structures.
There have also been reported tensions over the Rainbow Coalition associated with Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, which has generated concerns among some APC stakeholders over possible cross-party alliances.
The coalition has been described as an arrangement intended to attract support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid from politicians outside the APC while allowing their parties to field candidates against APC flag-bearers in other contests.
Critics of the arrangement have reportedly expressed concerns that such an approach could create confusion among voters and weaken the ruling party’s chances in governorship, senatorial and House of Representatives elections.
