As the All Progressives Congress (APC) prepares for its 2026 National Convention, billed to hold in Abuja this month, what was supposed to be a celebration of an expanding ruling party is fast degenerating into a ferocious war of attrition.
The governors elected on its platform of the party were reported to have locked in bitter disagreements over the sharing of National Working Committee (NWC) positions, with zoning, presidential ambition and the calculations of 2027 general polls taking centre stages.
Multiple senior party sources, speaking to Journalists under the condition of anonymity, confirmed that the Progressives Governors’ Forum has held at least two closed-door sessions in Abuja.
These sessions ended without resolutions regarding to APC Convention, which is seen as the most important gathering since the party’s 2022 congress,
“The disagreements is on which geopolitical zone takes which NWC office and who, within each zone, gets to name the candidates. “The governors are not fighting over principle,” one source told the Newsmen bluntly. “They are fighting over power. Every position on that NWC is a lever for 2027.”
The APC’s forthcoming National Convention is of strategic importance as it may confirm or restructure the NWC, which manages the party’s day-to-day affairs. Zoning considerations are expected to feature prominently. However, balancing has never come easily for the party. In 2022, a similar battle over NWC positions nearly derailed the convention.
This time, the stakes are arguably higher. The APC now has no fewer than 30 governors in its fold, swelled by a wave of defections from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The main disagreement, Daily Sun gathered, revolves around three NWC positions; the Deputy National Chairman (North), the National Organising Secretary, the National Publicity Secretary, and the Deputy National Publicity Secretary.
The aforementioned offices will be critical instruments for managing delegate lists, primaries and media narratives in the run-up to the 2027 general elections. Governors elected on the platform of the APC Governors’ Forum are unhappy, Daily Sun has gathered. A senior party source said many governors feel blindsided by earlier declarations.
For instance, it was learnt that the North West is pushing hard for enhanced representation in the NWC. The North Central, which currently provides the National Chairman in Professor Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, insists on maintaining the status quo.
Amid the unfolding drama, President Bola Tinubu has shown no sign to intervene. Instead, he has tactically given governors the leeway to control the affairs of the party
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