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By Lawrence Agbo
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Cletus Obun, has cautioned the ruling party against repeating the mistakes that led to its loss of electoral victories in Zamfara State, urging party leaders to strictly comply with primary election guidelines ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking during an interview with ARISE NEWS, Obun said the APC must ensure that only aspirants who genuinely participated in its primary elections emerge as candidates, warning that any attempt to substitute candidates outside the party’s established procedures could expose the party to legal challenges.
“APC must go back and do its due diligence and present candidates that participated in the elections,” he said.
Obun explained that the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) recent warning on candidate substitution was intended to strengthen the integrity of political party primaries rather than target any specific party.
According to him, allowing aspirants who were previously disqualified during screening to later emerge as candidates without a transparent process would raise serious legal and political questions.
“If you screened somebody out and the person suddenly becomes qualified, what changed? Those are the issues INEC is referring to,” he said.
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He noted that documents generated during the screening and primary election process would remain public records and could be used by opposition parties to challenge the APC’s candidates in court after the elections.
Drawing from past experience, Obun recalled that the APC lost all the offices it won in Zamfara after the courts ruled that the party failed to conduct valid primaries.
“In Zamfara, we were the first victims. We won all the elections and we were thrown out by the courts. You cannot make the same mistake twice unless there is something behind it,” he said.
While acknowledging that the APC has internal mechanisms for resolving disputes, Obun stressed that the party must ensure its processes meet legal standards to avoid unnecessary litigation.
He also warned against complacency ahead of the 2027 elections, saying the APC should not assume victory simply because it is the ruling party.
“We are in for a shocker in the next election. This is not going to be an ordinary election, and APC should not take anything for granted,” he said.
Obun urged the party to minimise errors during its primaries, arguing that avoidable mistakes could hand opposition parties an opportunity to overturn electoral victories through the courts.
