By Yinka Oduntan
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has reaffirmed its support for the administration of Bola Tinubu, saying cooperation among political actors is essential for strengthening democratic governance and promoting national development.
The party’s National Chairman, Sly Ezeokenwa, stated this during an interactive session with journalists on Thursday in Lagos.
Ezeokenwa said APGA’s alignment with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government was driven by national interest, political stability and the need to advance development across the country.
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According to him, the party’s leadership has consistently maintained its position on electoral reforms, internal democracy and constructive political engagement.
“APGA’s support for the Tinubu administration is based on the belief that cooperation among political actors is necessary to stabilise the country and advance development,” he said.
He emphasised that the party favours constructive engagement rather than antagonistic politics, noting that collaboration with the government at the centre would help drive national progress.
“Our national leader believes governance should not involve needless confrontation but collaboration. We support stability and progress while remaining true to our ideology,” Ezeokenwa added.
The chairman, however, stressed that the party’s cooperation with the Federal Government does not diminish its identity as an independent political organisation with its own structure and vision.
Ezeokenwa also commented on Nigeria’s electoral process, commending reforms introduced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He clarified what he described as misconceptions surrounding the electronic transmission and collation of election results within the existing legal framework.
“The law currently provides manual collation as the primary method. There is no full electronic collation under the existing electoral framework,” he said.
According to him, the results transmitted to the IReV portal differ from those collated by INEC because physical result sheets are used at collation centres.
He noted that any meaningful amendment to the electoral law should clearly establish electronic collation to avoid confusion about the current process.
Ezeokenwa further described the 2023 general elections as the best conducted in Nigeria’s history, attributing the improvement to innovations such as electronic accreditation using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
“For the first time, electronic accreditation using BVAS became compulsory, strengthening the integrity of the voting process,” he said.
He explained that during collation, officials verify the number of accredited voters through BVAS before accepting results, adding that results exceeding the number of accredited voters must be cancelled in line with the law.
The APGA chairman also expressed support for direct primaries, arguing that the system would strengthen internal democracy and reduce the influence of money in candidate selection.
He said the party’s national leadership, led by Charles Soludo, had long advocated inclusive nomination processes that allow broader participation by party members.
According to him, the delegate system often allowed a few individuals to determine party candidates, sometimes influenced by financial inducements.
“Direct primaries will compel aspirants to engage members at the grassroots instead of relying on a handful of delegates,” Ezeokenwa said.
He added that wider participation in party primaries would strengthen party structures and make emerging leaders more accountable to the electorate.
