President Bola Tinubu has directed his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, and Special Adviser on Political Matters, Ibrahim Masari, to supervise the conduct of primary elections for Senate and House of Representatives seats under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The directive follows a series of high-level consultations with lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives, who reportedly emphasised the need for strict adherence to internal party democracy and credible nomination processes.
Under the arrangement, Gbajabiamila and Masari will serve as presidential representatives to monitor and coordinate the primaries nationwide. They are expected to work closely with APC state governors, the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The supervisory team is mandated to ensure that the exercise is peaceful, transparent and credible, while providing regular briefings to the President on the conduct of the primaries across the country.
However, officials clarified that the new arrangement does not override the statutory responsibilities of the APC National Secretariat, which remains constitutionally empowered to organise and conduct primaries in line with the Electoral Act as amended and the party’s guidelines.
According to the structure, the NWC will continue to issue notices of election, screen aspirants, deploy primary election panels and collate results, while the presidential supervisory team focuses on political coordination, monitoring compliance with due process, and conflict resolution where necessary.
The development comes amid reported pressure from some political stakeholders seeking an expanded supervisory committee to include broader interests within the party. However, President Tinubu is said to have resisted such calls, concerned that enlarging the structure could undermine the legal responsibilities of the party organs and complicate the nomination process.
Party insiders say the move is part of early efforts by the presidency and the APC leadership to avoid internal disputes and ensure smoother primaries as the party prepares for the 2027 general elections.