The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has indicated that it will not present its own candidate in Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election but will instead support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu if he emerges as the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The announcement was made on Thursday, March 5, 2026, during a press briefing in Lagos by the party’s National Chairman, Sly Ezeokenwa. He explained that APGA intends to adopt Tinubu as its presidential candidate after the APC conducts its nomination process through direct primaries.
“We hope that during the national convention of the APC, if he secures the nomination of his party through direct primaries, I can bet you that the national convention of APGA will adopt him as our presidential candidate,” he said.
Ezeokenwa explained that the decision is based on the relationship the party has developed with the president and its agreement with his political agenda.
“We decided to return to this policy for a reason. Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda resonates with us. He has shown us good faith. We share similar ideology. If he gets the nomination of his party, we’ll adopt him.”
According to him, APGA has used a similar strategy before. The party supported former Nigerian leader Goodluck Jonathan during the 2011 and 2015 presidential elections even though Jonathan belonged to another political organisation at the time.
Ezeokenwa also addressed issues relating to changes in Nigeria’s Electoral Act, the legislation that regulates elections and party activities in the country. He said the introduction of direct primary elections would reduce the high cost that political parties often face when selecting their candidates.
However, he raised concerns about provisions that require political parties to submit their membership registers to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at least 21 days before primaries, congresses, or conventions. Only members whose names appear on the register will be allowed to vote or contest during those internal elections.
He criticised the requirement, arguing that it may limit the ability of smaller political parties to present strong candidates.
“The constitution says you must belong to a political party but you don’t determine for me who my members should be. It’s none of your business,” he said.
“There is a conscious attempt to emasculate smaller parties from fielding credible candidates. But I believe one of the positive sides of the new law is that it will entrench belief in political party ideology. Today people just see political parties as special purpose vehicles. We accept the direct primaries wholeheartedly. We urge INEC to ensure credible elections.”
The APGA chairman added that the party has already started a digital membership registration and revalidation exercise in preparation for future primaries. The exercise began on Saturday, March 1, 2026, and will last for one month.