APC rules out automatic tickets for Lawmakers, says primaries will decide candidates

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nentawe Yilwatda, has dismissed reports suggesting that the party may grant automatic tickets to serving National Assembly members ahead of future elections.

Yilwatda clarified the party’s position during a media chat in Abuja, insisting that both the APC constitution and the Electoral Act provide clear guidelines on how candidates emerge.

“There is no automatic ticket in our constitution. The party cannot promise an automatic ticket,” he said.

He explained that the party is bound by law and internal regulations, which require all aspirants to emerge through established primary election processes.

“There’s no automatic ticket in our constitution. The constitution of the party does not provide for automatic tickets, and the party cannot wishfully promise automatic ticket to anyone,” he added.

According to him, the Electoral Act provides only two lawful methods for selecting candidates—direct primaries or consensus arrangements—and does not recognise automatic nominations.

Yilwatda stressed that all party members, regardless of position or incumbency, would go through the same selection process.

“All members of our party will undergo the same process. We will use the Electoral Act, our party guidelines, and constitution to get people to participate in primaries,” he said.

He further noted that performance in office would play a key role in determining whether lawmakers secure re-election tickets, adding that party members and the electorate would ultimately judge their effectiveness.

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