The All Progressives Congress (APC) has refuted claims that it has awarded automatic tickets to all National Assembly members for the 2027 general elections.
This comes amid widespread speculation that the presidency, seeking to maintain party stability and minimize pre-election disputes, allegedly offered automatic re-election to lawmakers on the APC platform, aiming to reduce turnover in the National Assembly and bolster loyalty to President Bola Tinubu’s leadership.
Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, National Chairman of the APC, suggested at a recent meeting with North Central APC stakeholders that continuity in legislative representation is necessary, but did not confirm any automatic ticket arrangement.
“We should continue to thank our legislators for their support… why are we having high turnover of our legislators after four years? Can that encourage institutional memory? If we cannot do it by law, we can do it by advocacy,” Ganduje stated.
“So, it is the responsibility of the party to dialogue with the leadership of the National Assembly so that those legislators who are very active, who are movers, to see how they can come back,” he added.
The call for automatic tickets gained momentum after a meeting at the Presidential Villa, where party leaders allegedly backed President Tinubu for re-election. Sources claim Tinubu directed governors to not contest the decision to return incumbent lawmakers unopposed.
“Most of the governors are adamant. They are even threatening a showdown over this,” a source said. “A governor from the South West and the South East is pushing this agenda. They have successfully recruited a few APC governors, especially those who inherited elected lawmakers and became governors through off-season polls, into their agenda.”
However, dissent also exists within the ranks. “Two other South West governors made it clear that they are not part of the agenda. They feared that since the President’s decision to give automatic tickets to National Assembly members may have come for strategic reasons, the governors should refrain from challenging it,” the source noted.
Amid the brewing controversy, APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, Esq., has said the reports are fake.
“The attention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been drawn to a purported Breaking News Report tagged ‘APC Grants Automatic Tickets to All National Assembly Members’ in viral circulation,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.
He added, “The report is FAKE NEWS and should be disregarded in its entirety as it did not emanate from our great Party.
“We urge all Party members and the general public to disregard the report as FAKE and of mischievous origin.”
