As Nigeria’s political parties conclude their primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections, a wave of national outrage has swept across the country, with Nigerians, civil society groups, legal experts, and even political actors themselves raising the alarm that what has just unfolded is less an exercise in internal democracy and more a brazen display of manipulation, imposition, and organised fraud.
The central question being asked in living rooms, courtrooms, and newsrooms alike is a sobering one: if the seeds of candidate selection are poisoned, what harvest can the nation expect in 2027?
“A Poisoned Well Cannot Yield Pure Water”
Tribune Online, in a biting editorial, asked with unmistakable directness: “If candidates emerge through warped and fraudulent processes, how can they be expected to govern with integrity? How can politicians who gain office through coercion and imposition solve Nigeria’s existential crises of insecurity, unemployment, poverty, and institutional decay? A poisoned well cannot yield pure water. Leaders produced by anti-democratic means will definitely govern with the same contempt for accountability that produced them.”
The Consensus Trap: Democracy in Name Only
Elections analyst Samson Itodo, writing for Channels Television, described what is unfolding across Nigeria’s primaries as “organised theft of the people’s franchise.” He noted that consensus candidacy — one of two legally recognised modes under the Electoral Act 2026 — has been weaponised as a tool whereby political parties, godfathers, and self-styled stakeholders anoint a candidate ahead of any competitive process, then exert pressure on other aspirants to withdraw, step aside, or be simply ignored.
A commentator writing for TheCable went further, warning that “we cannot expect a national tree to bear the fruits of good governance if the seeds of internal democracy were never planted. When parties bypass the primary process for a name handpicked in a smoke-filled room, they effectively shut out the very people they claim to lead.”
Rigging, Violence, and Imposition Across Board
This Day Live reported that across the country, APC primaries were marked by violence and thuggery, complaints of candidate imposition, manipulation of delegates’ lists, vote-buying, intimidation, rigging, and a complete lack of transparency — with nowhere more chaotic than Edo State, where discontent ran deepest.
In Niger State, the APC entered its 2027 primaries with promises of unity and orderly internal democracy, but the exercise quickly descended into allegations of manipulation, failed logistics, elite-brokered consensus arrangements, and disputed ward-level processes that exposed widening cracks within the party structure. The exercise became a battlefield of competing interests, with aspirants, party loyalists, and stakeholders trading accusations over zoning, imposition, and exclusion.
A public observer put it bluntly: “If I were contesting in any party’s 2026 primaries, particularly the APC, I would either accept the outcome of what already appears to be a pre-arranged consensus or simply avoid participating in what is called direct primaries.” He recounted a 2011 experience in which he won convincingly in seven of eleven wards, only for the final result to be completely changed.
The Legal Vacuum: Aspirants Without Remedy
Perhaps most alarming is the legal gap that leaves wronged aspirants without recourse. Under the Electoral Act 2026, Section 83(5) provides that “no court in Nigeria shall entertain jurisdiction over any suit or matter about the internal affairs of a political party,” creating a situation where an aspirant whose exclusion from a primary cannot be remedied before the election date is left without any effective avenue of redress.
Prof. Isa Ali Pantami, in Gombe State, chose to frame his withdrawal not as a sacrifice for unity but as an act of resistance, citing violations of the Electoral Act 2026 and the party’s failure to provide channels of communication essential for a credible contest — a statement that reframed the national debate from party cohesion to democratic credibility.
Civil Society Speaks Out
The United Action for Democracy called on Nigerians to reject any political party or candidate turning the country into a “disgraced country,” while urging INEC, the EFCC, and the ICPC to investigate political aspirants before primaries are conducted. “We cannot continue to be governed by fake elements who brandish fake governance everywhere and, as such, destroy the livelihoods of citizens,” the group’s secretary general, Adekunle Wiseman, said.
A PM News editorial warned that the time has come for political parties to embrace reform and begin to play responsibly, “or risk becoming undertakers at the funeral of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic.”
As 2027 approaches and the fruits of these poisonous primaries begin to ripen into candidacies, ballot papers, and ultimately governance, Nigeria faces a sobering reckoning: a democracy that cannot clean its own internal processes is a democracy already in retreat.
CDA News Nigeria will continue to hold power to account ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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