Like a gambler who won’t stop rolling the dice even when the house is burning, the All Progressives Congress (APC) appears to have cast its entire gaze on 2027 while the country groans under the deadweight of economic hardship, insecurity, and institutional decay. As Nigerians continue to choke under the weight of inflation, epileptic power supply, rising unemployment, and a near-collapsing healthcare system, the ruling party is busy oiling its political machinery — not to govern better, but to retain power at all costs.
The recent remarks by APC National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, that discussions around President Bola Tinubu’s running mate would only happen after the party’s national convention, are telling. Instead of speaking about policy achievements, economic recovery, or governance milestones, the conversation has drifted to how the APC can win again — as if governance is a trophy to be snatched rather than a trust to be honored.
The APC is acting like a suitor who hasn’t yet fed the wife he married in 2023 but is already planning a lavish second wedding. What has changed since Tinubu was sworn in on May 29, 2023? Have the lives of Nigerians improved? Has the country’s economy turned the corner? Has insecurity, which continues to ravage several parts of the North and Middle Belt, been curtailed? Rather than answers, what Nigerians get are endorsements, declarations, and political fanfare, all while hunger remains a constant companion in many homes.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s inflation rate as of May 2025 stood at 34.1%, one of the highest in over two decades. Food inflation alone is at a staggering 40%, yet the APC sees no urgency in addressing this. Instead, the party is more concerned about how to package a 2027 ticket that will satisfy its internal power blocs. In a nation where over 63% of people live in multidimensional poverty, what business does any ruling party have fixating on elections two years ahead without first fixing the present?
The rowdy summit in Gombe State, where Vice President Kashim Shettima’s name was conspicuously omitted during the endorsement of Tinubu, is a reflection of the jostling for ethnic, regional, and personal interests that define the APC’s internal politics. This is not a party trying to rescue a failing state; it is a party drunk on power, obsessed with optics, and governed by cabals who see Nigeria as a chessboard for personal ambition.
Senator Ali Ndume’s dissenting voice is perhaps the most sobering reminder that blind endorsements do not translate to political victory. He reminded the nation how former President Goodluck Jonathan, despite endorsements from 22 governors, was swept away by the same political tide that APC now arrogantly believes it controls. History, it seems, teaches no lessons in the corridors of the APC.
Even more shameful is the party’s attempt to paint dissent as harmless diversity of opinion. “People in a democratic setting are born to have different opinions,” Basiru said. That would have been more credible if APC’s internal democracy had not repeatedly shown itself to be a smokescreen. From questionable primaries to rubber-stamped conventions, the APC has largely been a top-down machinery that tolerates opposition only when it’s politically expedient.
The most painful irony is that Nigerians voted the APC to bring change — to improve their lives, reform institutions, and deliver justice. But what they have gotten is a government constantly campaigning, even while in office. The line between governance and politicking has been so blurred that the two have become indistinguishable.
A government that genuinely cares would not need to stage elaborate endorsements or suppress debate on its failings. Its achievements would speak louder than its praise singers. But where are the achievements? The naira, once a proud currency, is now a shadow of itself. Nigeria’s debt profile has ballooned to over ₦144 trillion, and insecurity remains a sword hanging over citizens’ heads.
Healthcare is in shambles, with medical doctors fleeing the country in droves. Our universities are underfunded. Yet, the APC continues to beat the 2027 drum louder than it addresses these critical sectors. For them, the seat of power is not a burden of responsibility but a throne of entitlement.
And what about the young people? Over 13 million Nigerian children are out of school, the highest in the world. Youth unemployment is above 40%, with graduates roaming the streets without hope. Rather than tackle this ticking time bomb, the APC is busy settling political scores and plotting the most ‘strategic’ running mate for an election still two years away.
The APC’s leadership must be reminded: you were elected to govern, not to campaign. The soul of a nation is bleeding, and all you can do is discuss ticket permutations? The average Nigerian is not interested in who becomes Tinubu’s running mate. They are more concerned about feeding their families, accessing healthcare, and living in safety. Anything less is tone-deaf, detached, and disgraceful.
If the APC truly believes it deserves another four years in power, then it must earn it through performance, not propaganda. Elections are not won by empty endorsements but by trust, and trust must be built with concrete results — not wishful thinking.
Until then, 2027 should be the last thing on APC’s mind. Because if the party does not change course, it may very well find itself, like the PDP in 2015, tossed into the dustbin of history by an angry electorate tired of being governed by political jugglers more interested in crowns than in the people they swore to serve.
Stanley Ugagbe is a Social Commentator. He can be reached via stanleyakomeno@gmail.com
