The All Progressives Congress has adopted a direct primary for its 2026 presidential race and named Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara as its state coordinator in Rivers. The party said the vote will hold on May 24, 2026, across all 8,809 wards, with every registered APC member eligible to choose the presidential aspirant of their choice.
In a notice issued Thursday, the party said results from each ward will first be collated at the local government level before being sent to Abuja, where they will be presented to the Presidential Primary Election Committee. It also said the conduct of the exercise in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory will be overseen by designated state coordinators and collation officers appointed by the party leadership.
The APC said former Senate President Pius Anyim will chair the Presidential Primary Election Committee, while former Senate Leader Ali Ndume will head the appeal committee. The party also named state coordinators in several states, including Hope Uzodimma in Imo, Umo Eno in Akwa Ibom, Douye Diri in Bayelsa, Hyacinth Alia in Benue, Babagana Zulum in Borno, Sheriff Oborevwori in Delta, Francis Nwifuru in Ebonyi, Monday Okpebholo in Edo, Peter Mbah in Enugu, Umar Namadi in Jigawa, Uba Sani in Kaduna, Babajide Sanwo-Olu in Lagos, Mohammed Umar Bago in Niger, Lucky Aiyedatiwa in Ondo, Caleb Mutfwang in Plateau, Agbu Kefas in Taraba, Dauda Lawal in Zamfara and Adegboyega Oyetola in Osun.
The APC said the same procedure it forwarded to the Independent National Electoral Commission on May 15, 2026, for direct and consensus primaries would also govern the presidential exercise. It said the state coordinators and collation officers are responsible for organizing the direct primary in each of the 36 states and the FCT, a sign the party is trying to keep the presidential contest on a formal path even as it continues primaries for other offices across the country.
The timing matters because the party has already been moving through its broader primary season, and the new timetable puts the presidential race on a fixed, nationwide footing. It also lands after the party had previously endorsed President Bola Tinubu as its sole presidential candidate at national and some zonal levels, leaving open the question of how broad the field will be when members vote on May 24.
For Fubara, the Rivers posting places him inside the party’s machinery at the very moment it is setting the rules for its next presidential test. For the APC, the answer to the central question is now clear: it is choosing a direct vote by members, not a backroom selection, and it has set the machinery in motion to carry that decision to all 8,809 wards.
