No automatic tickets for N/Assembly members – APC

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has ruled out automatic tickets for its first term members at the National Assembly.

The APC National Publicity Secretary, Barrister Felix Morka, in a statement said the party would not give automatic tickets to federal lawmakers who are members of the party as reported by an online medium.

Sequel to the recent defections from the opposition parties, APC is leading in the Senate with 68 senators out of 109 members and over 200 in the 360-member House of Representatives.

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Also, there has been influx of opposition leaders into the ruling party ahead of the 2027 general elections. 

While some of the defectors have cited internal wrangling in their parties, others said they joined the APC to be part of a government that “delivers dividend of democracy” to the people.

Also, there were claims in some quarters that some of the defectors who joined the APC were promised automatic tickets. 

But the party said, “The attention of the APC has been drawn to a purported ‘breaking news report tagged, ‘APC grants automatic tickets to all National Assembly members’ in viral circulation.

“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.”

Earlier events

All the 22 governors who are members of the APC, all its members in the National Assembly, and its National Working Committee (NWC), alongside zonal leaderships recently endorsed and adopted President Tinubu as the party’s sole candidate for the 2027 election.

This came barely two years into his administration and despite the fact that the president is yet to formally announce his intention to seek re-election.

Tinubu was formally adopted as the sole presidential candidate of the APC during the party’s National Summit held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The summit, themed “Renewed Hope Agenda: The Journey So Far,” saw overwhelming support from key party stakeholders, including governors, members of the National Assembly and the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).

Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF) and governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma, announced the unanimous endorsement of the President by all the 22 APC governors. 

Following Uzodinma’s announcement, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, announced that the APC members in the National Assembly also endorsed Tinubu for a second term.

National Chairman of the APC, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje also announced that the party’s NWC endorsed Tinubu for re-election.

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, who also chairs the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), said Nigeria was on the right path with Tinubu at the helm. 

Speaking on behalf of all 36 state governors, AbdulRazaq defended the APC’s choice of Tinubu as its 2023 presidential candidate and highlighted his administration’s achievements over the past two years. He urged Nigerians to support the president’s policies and programmes going forward.

The endorsement at the summit was a continuation of earlier expressions of support across various APC strongholds. On May 18, APC leaders from the North West gathered in Kaduna where they endorsed the president. 

The meeting was attended by the APC National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, and governors from the region including Uba Sani (Kaduna), Nasir Idris (Kebbi), and Umar Namadi (Jigawa). Similar endorsements were also done in other quarters in the country. 

Following Tinubu’s adoption, federal lawmakers and state governors who are in their first term on the platform of the APC have high hopes that they would also be given automatic tickets. 

President Tinubu had also raised their hope during the presentation of the 2025 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly when he said, “You are all re-elected.”

Presenting the budget for the 2025 fiscal year to the lawmakers in December last year, President Tinubu jokingly told the legislators that they were all re-elected. 

Tinubu had also erroneously referred to the 10th National Assembly as the 11th National Assembly during his presentation. But the lawmakers drew the president’s attention to the error.

Following this, there was furore in the House of Representatives chamber where the joint session was held, prompting the president to say, “Which means you are re-elected.”

When the lawmakers heard the president’s remark, they started singing, “On your mandate we shall stand…”

Blanket automatic tickets may not be feasible – Benue APC Rep

Reacting to the APC position, a member of the House of Representatives from Benue State, Terseer Ugbor, said  blanket automatic tickets to all members of the National Assembly by the APC in 2027 may not be feasible and practicable due to certain dynamics.

The lawmaker, who represents Kwande/Ushongo federal constituency on the platform of the APC, said there was a need for the party to tread carefully on the issue of automatic tickets for National Assembly members seeking a return ahead of the 2027 elections.

Citing global democratic practices, the lawmaker emphasised the value of legislative experience, noting that in mature democracies like the United States, long-serving legislators often bring institutional memory and expertise that strengthen governance.

“In every democracy across the world, incumbency and experience in the legislature are highly valued,” he said. “That’s why in countries like the U.S., you find lawmakers who’ve served 30 to 40 years. They contribute immensely to legislative growth.”

However, he acknowledged the peculiar Nigerian context, where high turnover in the National Assembly has become a recurring trend.

“In the current Assembly, about 70% of the members are new. The same thing happened in the 9th Assembly. So it’s understandable that returning lawmakers may seek preferential consideration during party primaries,” he said.

Yet, the lawmaker stressed that granting automatic tickets to all incumbents would be unrealistic for a number of reasons.

“There are those who have served for multiple terms—three, four, even ten years—and their constituents may desire change. You can’t force continuity on people if they want something new,” he said.

He also pointed out that some lawmakers may aspire to move from the House of Representatives to the Senate, and others may face internal party dynamics like zoning arrangements that could complicate any attempt at automatic endorsement.

“Even if you give an automatic ticket in some areas, the local realities may still lead to a loss in the general election. So I don’t see a blanket policy working,” he said.

Comparing lawmakers’ positions to that of executive office holders, he explained that it is often easier to justify a second-term ticket for a governor because the constitution provides maximum tenure they can spend in office, unlike in the legislature, where tenure is open-ended.

While he welcomed the idea of rewarding loyal and high-performing lawmakers, he advocated for a “cautious approach.”

“It’s a good initiative in principle—preserving parliamentary experience—but the party must factor in local dynamics. Automatic tickets shouldn’t be applied across board,” he said.

The lawmaker urged the APC to assess individual cases and constituencies on their own merit rather than adopt a one-size-fits-all solution.

When contacted, a lawmaker,  Bello El-Rufai (APC, Kaduna) said, “I have no view because my focus is on representing my people very well and not an election you and I might not be alive to witness.”

Also speaking, the member representing Damboa/Gwoza/Chibok Federal Constituency of Borno State and member of the APC, Ahmadu Usman Jaha, said there is no point talking about automatic ticket for anyone “because it is not backed by the party’s constitution or any other law.

He said, “There is what people fail to understand.  The Electoral Act (as amended) is an Act of the Parliament. It is an Act of the National Assembly. And the Electoral Act is so explicit that ‘there must be internal democracy”.

“What we mean by internal democracy emanates from buying a form, undergoing screening process of the party, undergoing selection process and the primaries. Instead of talking about automatic ticket, we rather talk about consensus candidates. There is no automatic ticket anywhere in the world in a democracy; it is only consensus.

“If anybody does that, what happened in Zamfara May happen again because due process has not been followed. You cannot build something on nothing and expect it to stand. So, anybody who says anything about automatic ticket, it is not in the constitution of the party or any other law.

“I am a grassroots politician. I got an appointment only once but I have been contesting elections. I contested elections seven times, I failed three times and won four, but I always go through the processes as provided in the party’s constitution and all other laws. 

“We have been through the process and we are not afraid of primaries anytime it comes. Giving an automatic ticket to anybody; there is bound to be repercussion.”

Another APC lawmaker, who is from Nasarawa State, who spoke to Daily Trust on condition of anonymity, said although he is not in support of automatic ticket for anyone, the party may consider certain things and go for a consensus candidate in elections.

 “What I want to say is that, the party is supreme in taking any decision. It has the power to do things the way that will be the best for the party and its members. It has the power to give a ticket to Mr A today and decide to give it to Mr B before the election if it thinks that Mr A has something that may jeorpardise its chances or bring legal issues that may cost it the seat after the elections.

“There is what we call a reward system. People work to get rewards in one way or the other. If you go to the constituencies of most of us, you will see the development some people have brought to their areas which made them the first choice candidates. That gives them an edge over others and the party is aware of that, so the party may prefer such people as its candidates.

“Because of the projects that I executed in my constituency, I didn’t campaign during the last election. My name is just like a party. I paid WAEC fees for over 9000 students in my constituency.

“I am only giving this as example. I am not trying to justify anything that may not be right. There are other people also who may have done things. At this point, it remains for the party to take a decision because it has everything at its disposal and it decides what goes on in accordance with the provisions of its constitution, guidelines and other laws.

‘Lawmakers who adopted Tinubu, expect automatic tickets’

Speaking on the matter, a chieftain of the APC from the North East said the endorsement of President Tinubu as automatic candidate of the party has created serious problems.

He said the party’s position will spark controversy, stressing that the lawmakers who endorsed Tinubu were also expecting automatic tickets. 

He said, “All the first time governors, members of the Senate, House of Representatives and the State Assemblies that stamped the endorsement of the president are expecting corresponding endorsement by the president and the APC for them to have automatic tickets. 

“They are not expecting anything less as speak, and the party cannot tell them anything and they will accept. This is indirectly closing the doors to a fair contest. It also means non-performing elected representatives would have no problem of coming back simply because they endorsed the return of the president. This is a recipe for chaos.

“There are popular contestants who lost because of one reason or the other in 2023; they will not accept any compromise now. People are just forgetting about the dangers of the endorsement of President Tinubu in isolation; which to me is being spearheaded by some selfish leaders without putting the larger picture in perspective.

“What they did was just self-serving, which at the end of the day, the whole thing will hurt the APC as a party. This has never happened in our political history because the democratic foundation of the party has been completely eroded.”

It’s a good omen for democracy – Analyst

Weighing in on the matter, a political analyst, Jackson Lekan Ojo, described the party’s decision as a good omen for democracy.

He said the party should provide a level-playing field for both old and new members to test their popularity at the primaries, saying the beauty of democracy is when all aspirants are made to contest in a free and fair process.

Ojo said by ruling out automatic ticket for federal lawmakers, the APC has averted crisis that would have engulfed it ahead of the 2027 elections. 

He said, “In the APC, there are people that contested in 2015 and they lost. They contested again in 2019 and they didn’t make it. Some still contested in the 2023 election. 

But they never sabotaged or betrayed the party. They are hoping that one day they will make it.

“They are still working for the party. Then somebody will just come in because he lost relevance in his domain and then you issue him an automatic ticket? No.” he said.