Despite endorsing President Bola Tinubu as its presidential candidate for the second term, the national leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), yesterday, said the Expression of Interest and Nomination forms of the party would be opened to all party members in 2027.

In 2022, the APC sold is Expression of Interest and Nomination forms for N100 million. Over 20 party chieftains obtained the expression of interest and nomination forms that produced President Tinubu in December 2022.

Speaking to the media yesterday, the APC National Organising Secretary, Suleiman Arugungu, said the ruling party is a democratic party hence it will give other members opportunity to express themselves.

The position of the party is a departure from what the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) did in 2014, when it printed only one nomination form for President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, shutting out other prominent presidential aspirants from the contest.

The APC National Organising Secretary assured Nigerians that both the President and the APC remain dedicated to their welfare, security, and prosperity.

When asked whether the party will allow other presidential contestants to pick nomination forms despite various endorsements President Tinubu had received, the National Organising Secretary answered in the affirmative, saying: “The aspiration of the people would be the wish of the party.

As leaders of the party today, the NWC has endorsed President Bola Tinubu as the next presidential candidate of the party. By extension, other organs have done similar things. Governments in most of the states, zones in most of the six political zones, have also adopted the same. “But that does not mean that the door is closed.

That does not mean that when time comes, like we did always, we’ll make our timetable known so that for anybody who wants to aspire to be the next President of this country under the platform of All Progressives Congress, we’ll not deny him that opportunity to come and purchase form. We’ll allow him to come and pay.

So that he can exercise his franchise as a member of the APC. “We have never said it for any time, for any day that we have closed the door. But we are only telling people that we appreciate what Mr President is doing to the good people of this country.” He also revealed plans to schedule an interactive session with all elected senators, members of the House of Representatives, and State House of Assembly members soon, in Abuja.

He said this session will serve as a platform to share ideas and build trust, help chart a common course for engagements at both national and state levels, and strengthen the alignment of our elected representatives with the vision of the APC and the expectations of Nigerians.

At the just-concluded legislative bye-election, APC emerged victorious in 13 out of the 16 contested seats. According to Argungu, the remarkable achievement is a reaffirmation of the confidence Nigerians continued to repose in the APC.

He said: “These victories are not just statistics; they are a reaffirmation of the trust Nigerians continued to place in the APC. “They demonstrate the strength, resilience, and growing acceptance of our party nationwide. “They reflect the belief of the Nigerian people in our capacity to deliver purposeful leadership and good governance.”