The National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress has imposed a nationwide restriction on media briefings and result declarations by National Assembly Primary Election Committees, in a move aimed at preventing conflicting outcomes and tightening control over the party’s ongoing shadow elections.
Under the new directive, all official announcements and final declarations arising from the legislative primaries are to be handled exclusively at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
The order was conveyed in an official memo issued late Friday night and signed by the APC National Organising Secretary, Sulaiman Muhammad Argungu. The directive was addressed to chairmen of the National Assembly Primary Election Committees as well as APC state chairmen across the federation.
The development comes amid growing concerns within the ruling party over the possibility of parallel results, unauthorized announcements and post-primary disputes capable of triggering internal crises ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In the memo, Argungu stated that the party had already established a uniform procedure for the collation and transmission of results from the legislative primaries.
“Please be informed that established procedure exist for the collation and announcement of results arising from the National Assembly Primary Elections,” the memo read.
The APC outlined a four-stage collation structure beginning from the Ward Collation Centres to the Local Government Area Collation Centres, then to the designated Constituency Collation Centres, before the final submission of reports and results to the party’s national headquarters in Abuja.
Party officials said the centralized arrangement was designed to ensure transparency, eliminate discrepancies and preserve the integrity of the exercise.
To forestall premature declarations capable of sparking confusion or legal disputes, the NWC expressly barred committee officials from engaging the media within their states of assignment.
“Accordingly, no committee is permitted to conduct media briefing within their respective states of assignment. Any official briefing, where necessary, shall be conducted exclusively in Abuja after the submission of all results,” the directive added.
The latest intervention by the APC leadership underscores increasing efforts by the party hierarchy to maintain strict administrative control over its internal electoral process as competition intensifies among aspirants seeking tickets for the National Assembly.
Political observers believe the move may also be intended to avert a repeat of previous intra-party crises associated with disputed primaries, conflicting result sheets and factional declarations that have, in the past, culminated in prolonged litigations and electoral setbacks for major political parties.
