The All Progressives Congress has officially released guidelines for its 2026 presidential primary election, adopting a direct primary system that will allow all registered party members nationwide to participate in selecting the party’s flagbearer.
According to a statement issued by the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja, the presidential primary is scheduled to hold on May 24, 2026, across all 8,809 wards in the country.
The APC explained that every registered member will be eligible to vote for their preferred presidential aspirant, with results to be collated from the ward level up to local government areas before being transmitted to the national collation centre in Abuja.
The party also stated that the exercise will be supervised across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory by appointed state coordinators and collation officers.
A Presidential Primary Election Committee was constituted and chaired by former Senate President, Pius Anyim, alongside other senior party figures including Ken Nnamani, Victor Ndoma-Egba, Yakubu Dogara, Idris Wada, and Grace Titi Laoye-Ponle, with Senator Sanusi Musa serving as secretary.
In addition, an Appeal Committee was set up and headed by Senator Ali Ndume to handle disputes arising from the exercise.
Several serving governors were also named as state coordinators, including Siminalayi Fubara, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Hope Uzodimma, Babagana Zulum, among others.
The party noted that earlier guidelines on direct and consensus primaries submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission on May 15, 2026, will also apply to the presidential primary.
APC said the move is aimed at strengthening internal democracy, improving transparency, and ensuring wider participation in the candidate selection process ahead of the 2026 election cycle.
