The All Progressives Congress on Tuesday defended its decision to substitute some candidates after its primaries, insisting that the process complied with the law and the party’s internal guidelines.
The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Felix Morka, dismissed allegations that the ruling party arbitrarily replaced candidates or handed tickets to individuals who did not participate in the primary elections.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE NEWS, Morka said the party received more than 720 petitions from aggrieved aspirants following the primaries, adding that the substitutions were made after recommendations by appeal committees and a review by the National Working Committee.
“We received over 720 petitions from those who contested in that election. These petitions were reviewed by the appeal committees. Recommendations were made to the National Working Committee,” he said.
Morka explained that the NWC further examined the recommendations before approving changes where necessary.
“And at the end of them, we made those changes that you are discussing. So these are legitimate outcomes of our primaries,” he added.
Responding to claims that the APC violated the Electoral Act by substituting candidates after the primaries, the party spokesman argued that the primary election process extends beyond voting and includes an appeal mechanism.
“Primary election is a process. It’s not an event. The appeal process is an integral part of the primary election process. It’s not a separate process, and it’s not a process invented by the party to cause mischief,” Morka stated.
He also denied allegations that the APC awarded tickets to individuals who neither purchased nomination forms nor participated in the primaries.
“I’m not aware of any such case that you are alluding to about those who didn’t participate, who never bought forms, who were not screened, who didn’t participate in primaries, all of a sudden handed tickets,” he said, urging critics to provide evidence of such cases.
While acknowledging that some aspirants were dissatisfied with the outcome of the primaries, Morka maintained that every petition received by the party was thoroughly reviewed.
“When they don’t win, naturally some people definitely have a reason to be dissatisfied. This is why we took our time to go through these appeal processes to make sure there was no case we didn’t thoroughly review,” he said.
According to him, the APC has already begun engaging aggrieved aspirants to reassure them that the review process was transparent and not driven by personal interests.
“What we say to them is that everyone cannot be flag bearer. Nothing has been done that is arbitrary. Nobody has just been favoured with tickets,” he added.
Morka further dismissed suggestions that the APC was worried about the next general election despite controlling the majority of states, expressing confidence that the party would retain its electoral dominance.
“All the elections conducted in this country since the 2023 general elections, we have won them, including the most recent elections. We are working hard to win the next election,” he said.
