Some members of the House of Representatives elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress on Tuesday declared their readiness to seek the party’s ticket in a primary election ahead of the 2027 general election.

They stated this in separate interviews with The PUNCH, against the backdrop of a report by the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Felix Morka, dismissing plans by the party to reward its National Assembly members with automatic tickets to seek re-election in 2027.

Morka, in a statement on Tuesday, titled “Disregard fake news of APC automatic tickets for all National Assembly members,” said, “The attention of the APC has been drawn to a purported breaking news report tagged ‘APC grants automatic tickets to all National Assembly members’ in viral circulation.

“The report is fake news and 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.”

If Morka’s statement is anything to go by, APC lawmakers in both the House and Senate would test their popularity at the poll, among party members in a primary to determine whether they will return to the parliament or not in the next election cycle.

Speaking exclusively to our correspondent, the member representing Ido/Osi/Ilejeme Federal Constituency, Ekiti State, Kolawole Akinlayo, said he would seek a second term in 2027.

He said, “I will definitely go for a second term. It’s a must.”

Speaking in the same vein, another member of the House who craved anonymity because he did not want to be misunderstood,  said although he was ready to head to the primaries, the party must consider the place of institutional memory to the success of any parliament across the world.

According to him, the longer the period lawmakers spent in parliament, the better they became in terms of their understanding of the constitutional mandate of lawmaking, representation and oversight.

He said, “I am ready to go by whatever position the party takes. If they insist on primaries, I will be there, but it is important to remind ourselves that lawmakers are like wine: the older, the better.

“One of the drawbacks of the 10th National Assembly is the high rate of turnover of members who could not return in the 2023 election. It takes time for new ones to learn the ropes.”

Although he noted that an automatic ticket does not guarantee success at the election, he urged the leadership of the party to make decisions in the best interest of the nation.

“If the party chooses a primary election to determine who will fly its ticket in 2027, it is democracy. I am not suggesting that everyone in parliament must return.

“We must decide what we want from our parliament and take the right decision in the interest of the nation,” he added.