Political parties across Nigeria wrapped up their primary elections today, meeting the deadline set by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Since April 23rd, the process has been clouded by serious allegations. Vote-buying, violence, and favoritism have been reported.
Major parties haven't escaped the problems. The APC, PDP, ADC, NDC, PRP, SDP, Labour Party, and APGA all faced complaints.
Results have been mixed across different states. In some places, governors expressed frustration with outcomes.
External forces shaped candidate selection in Adamawa, Lagos, Plateau, and Kwara. Governors there couldn't control the process.
But in Gombe, Yobe, Borno, Benue, and Ogun, the opposite happened. Party members complained governors imposed their preferred candidates.
A few states managed to resolve tensions. Borno, Ogun, and Lagos saw all stakeholders eventually accept the results.
Nigeria's Electoral Act allows two methods for choosing candidates. Parties can use direct voting by registered members or consensus agreements.
Direct voting has been riddled with arithmetic errors. Observers documented votes jumping from 14 directly to 127.
Video evidence of these irregularities exists. Yet no one has faced prosecution so far.
Consensus selection came with its own problems. Some aspirants never signed required written agreements despite being listed as participants.
The ADC presidential primary demonstrated these tensions clearly. Two major aspirants rejected the process entirely.
Rotimi Amaechi and Mohammed Hayatu-Deen both objected to the conduct. Amaechi noted widespread voter disenfranchisement across multiple regions.
Despite their objections, another candidate was declared the winner. The party proceeded without resolving the disputes.
Election observers worry about what comes next. These primary problems signal deeper issues for the 2027 general elections.
INEC faces mounting pressure to act decisively. Experts argue the commission must reject seriously flawed primaries.
Democracy itself depends on credible electoral processes. Allowing flawed primaries to stand weakens public confidence.
Party officials defend their processes as transparent. They insist procedures followed established party constitutions.
Civil society groups disagree with that assessment. They've called for urgent reforms before next year's elections.
The primary season ends today with questions unanswered. Many Nigerians remain skeptical about the candidates selected.
