The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has released guidelines for the conduct of its 2026 presidential primary election, adopting a direct primary mode that will allow all registered party members nationwide to participate in the exercise.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said the National Working Committee (NWC) also approved the composition of the presidential primary election committee, appeal committee, as well as state coordinators and collation officers for the exercise. Morka said the decisions were taken in line with the APC constitution, the Electoral Act, and the party’s commitment to conducting a transparent and credible primary election process.
According to the guidelines, all registered APC members across the country’s 8,809 wards will be eligible to vote for their preferred presidential aspirants during the primary election. The party explained that results from the exercise would be collated across the 774 local government areas by designated collation officers before being transmitted to the presidential primary election committee in Abuja. It added that state coordinators and collation officers would supervise the process in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The APC said the final collated results would be presented to the presidential primary election committee in Abuja on May 24, 2026. The party named former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Pius Anyim, as chairman of the presidential primary election committee. Other members of the committee include former Senate President Ken Nnamani, former Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba, former Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara, and former Kogi State Governor Idris Wada.
The APC also appointed former Katsina State Governor Aminu Masari as chairman of the presidential primary election appeal committee. Other members of the appeal panel are Samuel Piwuna, a former director at the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), and former Speaker of the House of Representatives Patricia Etteh. The ruling party further unveiled state coordinators and collation officers for the presidential primary across the federation.
Among those appointed are Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma for Imo, Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for Kwara, Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri for Adamawa, and Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum for Borno. Others listed by the APC include Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal, former Oyo governorship candidate Teslim Folarin, and former senator Uche Ekwunife for Anambra State. The party noted that the list of coordinators and collation officers includes governors and political leaders drawn from all 36 states and the FCT.
