The Convener of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Ideological Group, Bamidele Atoyebi, has criticised the All Progressives Congress (APC) for allegedly allowing state governors to impose unpopular candidates during party primaries, warning that the development could weaken the party going into elections.

Atoyebi in a statement said many Nigerians initially welcomed reports that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had accepted direct or consensus primaries because they believed it would end the era of imposed candidates.

However, he alleged that governors still dominated the selection process and forced their preferred candidates on the party. According to him, several APC supporters in Kwara State expressed dissatisfaction with candidates allegedly chosen by the governor.

He claimed an APC stakeholder in Ilorin West, Kwara Central, admitted that some party members might vote for the Peoples Democratic Party because the opposition’s candidate was more popular.

Atoyebi also cited complaints from residents in Oke-Ode Ward in Kwara South, who reportedly questioned the governor’s choice of candidate and warned that the APC could lose support if unpopular aspirants were imposed on voters.

He further narrated an encounter with a man from Nasarawa State at an airport who blamed President Tinubu for allegedly handpicking governorship candidates.

Atoyebi said he corrected the man, insisting that governors, not the President, were responsible for selecting candidates in their states.

He accused governors of using the President as a shield to avoid criticism and claimed rumours within the party suggested that governors had been given broad powers to determine candidates for political offices.