The last may not have been heard about the recently held National Assembly primaries of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as the National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has moved decisively to halt the growing controversy surrounding the announcement of results.
Speaking during an interview on a National Television prigramme, Yilwatda declared that state chapters, local collation centres, and electoral committees lack the constitutional powers to announce winners of the primaries, insisting that only the National Working Committee of the party possesses the lauthority to ratify and officially declare results.
The APC national chairman reaffirmed the supremacy of the party’s national leadership in matters relating to the collation, verification, and announcement of primary election outcomes.
According to him, all results generated from the primaries conducted across the country must first be transmitted to the party’s national headquarters in Abuja for proper scrutiny and final verification before any candidate can be formally recognised.
While stressing that the party’s constitution and internal guidelines clearly vest final authority for the declaration of primary election results in the National Working Committee, Yilwatda emphasized: “States cannot announce winners until the NWC gives its verdict”.
The directive has effectively invalidated several results earlier announced by some state chapters and local collation committees following the primaries conducted nationwide.
Recall that in a supporting correspondence dated 17 May 2026 and addressed to all Chairmen of National Assembly Primary Election Committees, the APC National Organising Secretary, Sulaiman Muhammad Argungu, reminded party officials that established procedures already exist for the collation and announcement of results arising from the exercise.
The procedures, according to the letter, include ward collation, local government collation, designated constituency collation centres, and subsequent submission of all reports and results to the party’s national headquarters in Abuja.
The correspondence further warned that no committee is permitted to conduct media briefings within their various states of assignment, adding that any official briefing, where necessary, would be conducted exclusively in Abuja after the submission and verification of all results.
Similarly, the Office of the National Chairman issued a formal disclaimer against what it described as “unauthorised announcement of senatorial direct primary results” across several states.
The statement noted that such announcements directly contravene the established position of the National Secretariat and violate the explicit directive of the National Working Committee.
According to the disclaimer signed by Hon. Albukareem Bala Kwali, Chief of Staff to the National Chairman, no senatorial primary result should be announced until it has been formally reviewed, verified, and approved by the appropriate committee of the party.
The party consequently urged members of the APC and the general public to disregard any result already circulating in the media or on social platforms pending official ratification by the National Working Committee.
Serious concerns have also been raised over the conduct of the National Assembly Primary Election Committee in Abia State, where individuals who were not members of the Seven-man Committee constituted by the APC National Working Committee were allegedly allowed to announce senatorial primary election results..
In a further development that has drawn sharp criticism, an elaborate ceremony for the presentation of Certificates of Return was reportedly organised despite clear directives from the APC National Headquarters stating that no such certificates had been issued beyond the officially designated one presented to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
These actions, observers note, amount to a direct disregard of two explicit and unambiguous directives issued by the party’s national leadership, raising questions about compliance, procedure, and internal discipline within the process.
The APC leadership also reiterated its commitment to a free, fair, and credible electoral process, assuring party faithful that authentic results would be formally communicated upon the conclusion of the verification exercise.s ahead of future contests.
