By Clement John, Abuja
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has waived the screening requirement for President Bola Tinubu, declaring him automatically qualified to participate in the party’s forthcoming presidential primary without appearing before a screening committee.
The decision was taken at the party’s 188th National Working Committee (NWC) meeting held on Wednesday and announced by the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka.
Morka said the waiver was granted under provisions of the party’s constitution, which empowers the NWC to organise primaries and grant special exemptions where necessary.
“This decision was made pursuant to the powers conferred on the NWC under Article 13.4 (xiii) and (xiv) of the APC Constitution to organise and supervise the party’s primaries and, in special circumstances, grant waivers in the best interest of the party,” he said.
According to the party, Tinubu’s clearance was based on existing endorsements from key stakeholders, including the Progressive Governors Forum, members of the National Assembly, and resolutions from the APC National Summit held in May 2025.
The NWC also argued that as a sitting president who had already undergone screening during the 2022 presidential primaries, requiring him to appear again would be unnecessary and repetitive.
Meanwhile, the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, said the party headquarters in Abuja was witnessing heavy activity as aspirants across the country submitted nomination forms ahead of the 2027 elections.
Speaking to journalists, he described the turnout as evidence of the party’s nationwide strength and internal competitiveness.
“As you can see, this place is a beehive of activities, and it shows the acceptance of our party across the country,” he said.
He noted that interest in APC tickets cut across all levels, including legislative and executive positions, adding that even aspirants were challenging incumbents at the highest levels of government.
“We have a sitting President, yet people are buying forms to contest against him. We allowed it. We opened our party for competition,” he said.
On speculation about an extension of the deadline for form sales, Yilwatda ruled it out, citing statutory timelines under the Electoral Act.
“We are not extending. We would have loved to, but we are time-bound,” he said.
Addressing concerns over internal disagreements on zoning and consensus arrangements in some states, he said the party had put mechanisms in place to manage disputes during screening and primaries.
He also dismissed reports of a new opposition coalition involving defectors, saying it had no impact on APC’s strength.
Referring to claims that 17 lawmakers and a few former governors had joined a new political platform, he downplayed their significance.
“Seventeen out of over 400 lawmakers is less than five per cent. Should I be worried? I am not,” he said.
Yilwatda argued that the real crisis was within opposition ranks, not the ruling party.
“Opposition leaders are fighting themselves. Nigerians can see that it is opposition versus opposition, not APC versus opposition,” he said.
He added that defections into other platforms were largely internal opposition movements and not a threat to APC’s electoral prospects.
“When you aggregate these numbers, you can be sure that APC will win most of the seats in this country,” he said.
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