APC chieftain Yekini warns against ceding party structures to governors, urging fair nomination processes to prevent internal crisis ahead of 2027 elections
Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon Yekini Nabena, has cautioned the Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda-led National Working Committee (NWC) against ceding party structures to incumbent governors ahead of nationwide congresses.
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Nabena said such actions could alienate grassroots members, deprive committed party operatives, and risk breeding resentment ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“The 2027 general elections are about the masses against a few in the corridors of power; hence the masses must be carried along,” he said in a statement issued on Wednesday, February 11, 2026.
According to the Bayelsa APC chieftain, reports from the party’s national secretariat indicate plans to deliver nomination forms exclusively to governors, allowing them to determine candidates by selection rather than fair contest.
Nabena warned this approach could trigger an internal crisis within the party.
He called on the NWC to ensure transparent processes by making nomination forms accessible to all aspirants to avoid litigation and political friction across the states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Nabena also urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene in the nomination exercise to safeguard party cohesion.
The APC, Nabena lamented, has seen a decline in active membership, from 40 million registered members to fewer than 10 million in the ongoing electronic registration drive. He appealed to party leaders not to alienate the remaining members.
The warning comes amid rising tensions within the APC, including reports that the former national chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, was asked to pay N150 million in alleged debts, a move seen by some as intensifying opposition against the party ahead of the 2027 polls.
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Meanwhile, APC national chairman Yilwatda recently distanced the party from political crises in Rivers State, even as local lawmakers switched allegiance to the APC.
