The All Progressives Congress (APC) is set to conduct its presidential primary election today, May 23, 2027, to nominate the party’s presidential candidate for the upcoming 2027 general elections. Approximately 14 million registered members of the party are expected to participate in this crucial exercise. According to APC’s national chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, the party’s membership base has grown significantly, with nearly 14 million registered members. A notable demographic feature is that members between the ages of 18 and 35 constitute roughly 49.6% of the total, making APC the most youthful party in Nigeria, as stated by Yilwatda.

The ruling party has approved a direct mode of election for its primary, as outlined in the guidelines signed by national secretary Senator Ajibola Basiru. This means all registered members of the APC are eligible to vote for their preferred presidential aspirant in each of the 8,809 wards across the country. President Bola Tinubu and Osifo Stanley are the only two aspirants vying for the party’s presidential ticket in this contest.

The direct primary will be meticulously organized across all 8,809 wards. Results from each ward within the 774 local governments will be collated by local government collation officers, who are appointed by the state coordinator and a collation officer designated by the National Working Committee. The overall organization and conduct of the direct primary in each of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) fall under the responsibility of the state coordinator and collation officer. These officials will collate all local government results in their respective states and submit them to the Presidential Primary Election Committee in Abuja by May 24, 2027. Furthermore, the provisions detailed in the ‘Procedure for the Conduct of Direct and Consensus Mode of Primaries’, previously issued to the Independent National Electoral Committee on May 15, 2026, will also apply.

To oversee this process, the APC has constituted a Presidential Primary Election Committee. Former Senate Presidents Pius Anyim and Ken Nnamani will serve as chairman and deputy chairman, respectively. Other members include Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, Grace Titi Laoye-Ponle, former House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara, and former Kogi state Governor Idris Wada. Sanusi Musa has been appointed as the secretary for this committee.

An Presidential Primary Election Appeal Committee has also been established to handle any disputes arising from the primary. Former Katsina state governor, Hon. Aminu Masari, will chair this committee, with former House of Representatives Speaker Patricia Etteh as a member and Samuel Piwuna serving as its secretary.

For coordination at the state level, the 31 APC governors have been designated as coordinators and collation officers for their respective states. In states where APC does not have a sitting governor, such as Oyo, Osun, Bauchi, Abia, Anambra, and the FCT, specific individuals have been appointed to lead these efforts. Senator Teslim Folarin will coordinate Oyo, former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola for Osun, Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate for Bauchi, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu for Abia, Senator Uche Ekwunife for Anambra, and Senator Philip Aduda for the FCT.