The All Progressives Congress (APC) has defended its decision to substitute some candidates after its primary elections, insisting that the process was lawful and that no individual who failed to participate in the primaries was declared a winner.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, made the clarification on Tuesday while responding to allegations that the APC replaced candidates arbitrarily or handed tickets to aspirants who did not take part in the primary process.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE NEWS, Morka said the party received more than 720 petitions from aggrieved aspirants following the primaries.
He explained that the petitions were reviewed by appeal committees before recommendations were submitted to the National Working Committee, which subsequently conducted its own assessment before approving changes to some candidates.
“We received over 720 petitions from those who contested in that election. These petitions were reviewed by the appeal committees.
“Recommendations were made to the National Working Committee. But the National Working Committee, in its wisdom, also took responsibility to review the reports of the appeal committees and re-evaluate those cases.
“And at the end of it, we made those changes that you are discussing. So these are legitimate outcomes of our primaries,” he said.
Addressing claims that the party breached the Electoral Act by making substitutions after the primaries, Morka argued that primary elections should be viewed as a complete process rather than a single voting event.
“Primary election is a process. It’s not an event. The appeal process is an integral part of the primary election process. It’s not a separate process, and it’s not a process invented by the party to cause mischief,” he said.
The APC spokesman also dismissed allegations that the party gave nomination tickets to individuals who neither purchased nomination forms nor participated in the primaries.
“I’m not aware of any such case that you are alluding to about those who didn’t participate, who never bought forms, who were not screened, who didn’t participate in primaries, all of a sudden handed tickets.
“If you have any such example, please mention it, and I will go back and do my own investigation,” he said.
Morka acknowledged that some aspirants were unhappy with the outcomes of the primaries but said the party took adequate time to examine all complaints before reaching decisions.
“When they don’t win, naturally some people have reasons to be dissatisfied. This is why we took our time to go through these appeal processes to ensure that every case was thoroughly reviewed,” he said.
He added that the party had begun engaging dissatisfied aspirants to assure them that the decisions were not based on personal preferences.
“What we say to them is that everyone cannot be flag bearer. Our engagements are already ongoing to reassure them that this is not personal. Nothing has been done arbitrarily. Nobody has simply been favoured with tickets,” he said.
Morka further argued that primary elections, like other processes, could experience irregularities, making internal review mechanisms necessary.
“Primaries are not infallible. Primaries are not immune to irregularities. The system, the law and everything already recognise that sometimes things do not go right, so there must be a mechanism to review those situations when people complain,” he said.
Reacting to suggestions that the APC was concerned about the next general election despite controlling several states, Morka said the party remained confident of victory.
“All the elections conducted in this country since the 2023 general elections, we have won them, including the most recent elections we won massively,” he said.
He added, “We are working hard to win the next election, just as we have won all the by-elections. The idea that we are afraid is utterly ridiculous. We are working hard to win the next election.”
