June 08, (THEWILL) – For a party that is still wooing high profile members of the opposition into its ranks, granting an automatic ticket to any member beside the national leader and the President of the country, two years to an election year, may amount to shooting itself in the foot. So, when the governing All Progressives Congress, APC, denied a media report claiming that the party would grant members of the National Assembly automatic tickets in the 2027 General Election, it was just trying to play safe.
Following recent defections from the opposition parties, APC now has 68 members in the 109-member Senate and about 190 in the 360-member House of Representatives and 23 governors as opposed to 10 for the major opposition Peoples Party, PDP and one apiece for the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Labour Party and the New Nigeria Peoples Party.
According to the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Felix Morka, the report that the party has done so was fake as the party never took such a decision.
Although Mr Morka was silent on whether the party will consider the matter in a future date, he was however certain of the moment.
“The attention of the APC has been drawn to a purported breaking news report tagged, ‘APC Grants Automatic Tickets to All Members of the National Assembly ‘ in viral circulation.
“The report is fake. It 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,” the APC spokesperson said.
The story had a background to it. Apart from the party’s Progressives Governors Forum and the National Working Committee, NCW, who recently endorsed President Bola Tinubu as the sole presidential candidate on its platform for the 2027 poll, its National Assembly members were also part of the endorsement bandwagon.
Indeed, when the President was endorsed a fortnight ago, it had 22 governors. Governor Umo Eno made good his bid to defect from the PDP to APC on Friday, June 6, 2025, thus bringing the number of state governors on the APC platform to 23. More are said to be on the pipeline to follow in the months to come.
While governors with the state as their platform and therefore control a bigger voter power, the lawmakers who control a section based on constituencies cannot be expected to get an automatic ticket, compared to the governors.
The journey to the denial of the ticket for them, however started rather ambiguously.
It began with President Tinubu and then the governors’ unanimous endorsement of the president for 2027 when other big wigs of the party were doing it.
While presenting the 2025 budget to a joint session of the 10th National Assembly in December 2024, President Tinubu had jokingly teased the lawmakers with an automatic ticket.
During the presentation of the 2025 budget before the National Assembly, Tinubu erroneously addressed the lawmakers as members of the 11th Assembly. whereupon they reminded him that he was before the 10th and not the 11th.
Taking the caution in his stride, President Tinubu asked, “10? I wrote 11.” He was greeted with an uproarious laughter, prompting him to say, “Which means you are re-elected.”
When the lawmakers heard President Tinubu’s remark, they broke into a song, saying, “On your mandate we shall stand, Bola.”
Then a fortnight ago, the lawmakers on the party’s platform took a cue from the governors and the NWC and endorsed the president for a second term.
President of the Senate Godswill Akpabio, moved a motion for the president’s endorsement, which the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, seconded.
They were joined by their deputies, Barau Jibrin and Ben Kalu.
Akpabio said, “I hereby move, and let it be moved, that not only should President Bola Ahmed Tinubu be the sole candidate of the APC in 2027, but he should also be the unanimous choice of the Nigerian people,”
According to Akpabio, noting that the president has set Nigeria on the path of growth.
THEWILL learnt that lawmakers are restive because new defectors, especially in states like an APC governed Kebbi, where all three Senators defected from the PDP and expect to retain their position. They are Senators Adamu Aliero, representing Kebbi Central; Yahaya Abdullahi of Kebbi North Senatorial District and Garba Maidoki from Kebbi South senatorial zone.
In Delta, as another case, Senator Ned Nwoko who recently defected from the PDP to the APC is said to be restive because of the recent defection of former governor Ifeanyi Okowa. The ex-governor, who comes from the same Delta North Senatorial Constituency as Nwoko, is said to be eyeing the senatorial position in 2027. What is true of the senators who defected from PDP to APC, is also true of the House of Representatives members who have also defected to the APC.
Meanwhile a former Senate Minority Leader on the platform of the party, Olorunnimbe Mamora, has put everything in proper context. According to him the automatic ticket has become an issue in the APC like a “wait and see” situation.
He said, “Each case will be addressed on its own merit at the appropriate time. There is no doubt that the issue of automatic tickets will create some tension between defecting lawmakers and long-serving party members. But I believe the APC leadership has the necessary mechanisms to manage the situation when needed.”
Felix Ifijeh is a journalist with years of professional reporting experience. Known for his keen news sense, compelling storytelling and commitment to accurate, impactful reporting, he has built a reputation for turning leads into clear, engaging, and well-structured reports that resonate with readers. His work reflects deep newsroom experience and a commitment to accurate, impactful journalism.
