"A Process, Not an Event": APC Spokesman Felix Morka Clears the Air Over Alleged Candidate Impositions
The internal friction within the All Progressives Congress (APC) following the submission of legislative candidate lists took center stage as the party's leadership pushed back against accusations of injustice.
Speaking on Arise TV, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, strongly defended the recent substitution of several candidates, arguing that the changes were the legitimate administrative outcomes of the party's constitutionally mandated internal review mechanisms rather than arbitrary replacements from Abuja.
According to Morka, critics and aggrieved aspirants fail to understand that a primary election is an ongoing process rather than a single field event. He explained that the process legally encompasses everything from the sale of forms and vetting to the post-primary appeal committees. Morka revealed that the National Working Committee (NWC) painstakingly reviewed over 720 petitions from dissatisfied aspirants across the country.
He downplayed the scale of the substitutions, noting they only impacted 3% to 4% of the total seats nationwide—representing a 96% success rate for the original primary outcomes—and stressed that even prominent stakeholders and former governors lost their slots after reviews showed structural irregularities on the ground.
The Primary Appeal Stalemate: Local Field Voting vs. Abuja Administrative Review
The
dispute highlights the ongoing systemic friction between immediate
direct primary declarations at the local level and the final statutory
validation by the national headquarters.
3. Tactical Perspective: NWC Administrative Review vs. Aggrieved Grassroots
| Tactical Perspective | The NWC Administrative Review Position (Morka / Official List) | The Aggrieved Grassroots Faction (Challengers / Litigants) |
|---|---|---|
| Process Legality | Primaries are not infallible; the embedded internal appeal process is a valid, objective democratic norm to correct field errors. | Argues that throwing away field results in Abuja overrides the clear local will of the people who voted at the venues. |
| Candidate Infiltration | Denies any knowledge of "outsiders" being imported; challenges critics to provide empirical data or specific names. | Alleges that the appeal process was weaponized to settle factional scores in volatile states like Ondo and Benue. |
| Party Outlook | Dismisses claims of panic or anxiety, pointing to a consistent 2026 track record of winning recent regional bi-elections. | Warns that bypassing internal party dispute resolution timelines will drive loyal grassroots structures to work for the opposition. |
"Primary election is a process, it's not an event. What takes place in the field on the day of primary is just a part of the process... When those who didn't win bring forward a petition to their appeal committee, that process is also valid. Nothing has been done that is arbitrary. Nobody has just been favored with tickets." — Felix Morka
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