Consensus or Coronation? The New Conspiracy Against Party Democracy – by Emmanuel Aziken

The most significant change in the Electoral Act 2026 does not lie in the general election itself but in the process that precedes it: the nomination of candidates by political parties.

Under the new framework, the familiar route of indirect primaries, also known as delegate elections, has been removed from the legal options available to political parties. Section 84(2) of the 2026 Act recognises only two methods for nominating candidates: direct primaries and consensus.

While this provision appears revolutionary on paper, it is already sparking a fresh debate over the essence of internal party democracy.

For years, indirect primaries served as the main arena of Nigerian politics. Delegates, who were supposed to be elected from wards and local governments to represent the will of party members, often turned into political merchants in Abuja hotels. The delegate system was intended to provide representative democracy within parties, but in practice it became an auction house where conscience, loyalty and ideology were eclipsed by envelopes, foreign currency and the harsh reality of financial influence.

Securing a delegate seat at a presidential convention of a major party felt to many like winning a political lottery. Aspirants no longer needed to convince ordinary party members; they had to identify the delegate, trace the delegate’s handler, negotiate with the state leader, settle the middleman, and hope that the money reached the intended recipient. Even then, the transaction was not always guaranteed.

There were accounts from past conventions of delegates arriving in Abuja expecting to be “settled,” only to find that the money supposedly released for them had vanished somewhere between the aspirant’s war room and the state caucus. At the APC presidential convention that selected Bola Tinubu as candidate ahead of the 2023 election, some delegates alleged that leaders collected on their behalf but failed to deliver. Whether these stories were exaggerated or accurate, they highlighted the moral decay that indirect primaries had come to symbolize.

Consequently, the abolition of indirect primaries is worth praising. It legally eliminates one of the most notorious channels through which money politics infiltrated party nominations.

However, Nigerian politicians are adept at finding alternative routes to the same outcome. With the delegate bazaar closed, consensus may become the new instrument for elite imposition.

The law frames consensus as a voluntary democratic settlement. Section 87 of the Act requires the written consent of all cleared aspirants, indicating their voluntary withdrawal and endorsement of the consensus candidate. If that consent is not obtained, the party must resort to direct primaries. In other words, consensus is not a governor’s announcement, nor a communiqué from a handful of elders, nor a photograph at the Government House. It is a legal process that demands consent, documentation and ratification.

Early indications across the country suggest that consensus is already being stretched beyond its democratic intent.

In Nasarawa State, Governor Abdullahi Sule’s preference for Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada as successor has already sparked significant movement within the APC.

In Oyo State, the situation is even more illustrative. APC leaders reportedly endorsed Senator Sharafadeen Alli as the consensus governorship candidate for 2027, with some stakeholders claiming that the decision followed consultations and meetings with President Bola Tinubu. Former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, quickly rejected the endorsement, calling it invalid and insisting that any process lacking the consent of aspirants and the broader party structure could trigger a crisis.

That is the crux of the issue. Consensus without consent is not consensus; it is coronation.

Edo State provides another troubling example. The APC’s Edo South senatorial ticket is already attracting major interest, with Pastor Osagie Ize‑Iyamu and Omoregie Ogbeide‑Ihama both in the race.

Beyond the formal declarations lies the underground politics of power, loyalty and repayment. Ize‑Iyamu was not just another Edo APC figure. He was a former national vice‑chairman of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, and a known political ally of President Tinubu’s old progressive faction. In the 2024 Edo APC governorship contest, his withdrawal and support for Monday Okpebholo helped shift momentum at a critical moment.

Now, reports and political whispers in Edo suggest that Okpebholo may be under pressure to support Ogbeide‑Ihama, a longtime ally of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike. If that occurs, Ize‑Iyamu’s camp will frame it as betrayal. The moral argument will be simple: if Ize‑Iyamu cleared the road for Okpebholo, the governor should not now appear to build a barricade against him.

That is why direct primaries are returning to the centre of the debate. For aspirants who fear consensus imposition, direct primaries appear to offer a safer democratic route: let party members vote, let the true owners of the party decide, and let governors, ministers, senators and godfathers test their influence among card‑carrying members rather than behind closed doors.

Even direct primaries carry a credibility burden. Nigerians remember previous exercises where figures announced from direct primaries appeared to outnumber realistic membership strength, and sometimes even voter population in affected areas. If direct primaries are to become the cure, party registers must be credible, membership lists must be auditable, and INEC monitoring must go beyond ceremonial attendance.

The 2026 Electoral Act has removed one disease from the bloodstream of Nigerian politics: the delegate‑money convention. But unless consensus is kept within its lawful meaning and direct primaries are made transparent, the country may merely replace one form of manipulation with another.

The challenge before political parties is therefore clear. They must not turn consensus into conspiracy, nor transform direct primaries into manufactured figures, nor kill delegate corruption only to enthrone governor‑made candidates.

The spirit of the 2026 Act is popular participation. Anything less is a betrayal dressed in legal clothing.

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