The ongoing APC primaries have exposed a reality that would have been unthinkable in earlier decades: party chairmen now watch from the sidelines while governors call the shots. It wasn’t always this way. In the First and Second Republics, and even into the early Fourth Republic, chairmen commanded real authority over party structures, candidate selection, and grassroots mobilization. Governors were influential, but they weren’t automatically the party leader. Figures like Suleman Takuma, NPN’s national secretary, could shape the government of Awwal Ibrahim in Niger State between 1979 and 1983, according to the available literature.
Today, there is even confusion between APC National Chairman Prof Nentawe and Plateau Governor Caleb Mutfwang over who controls the party machinery and who could be behind the changing fate of popular Plateau lawmaker Hon Yusuf Gagdi, whose fate in the primary election has become dynamic.
How much has changed, with governors now seen as the decisive force in primaries and party affairs.
What changed is the balance of power and resources. Back then, the party operated on a doctrine of supremacy where the chairman controlled the secretariat, membership register, and delegate lists, giving him control over who got tickets. Governors came into office largely through party machinery, had limited independent finances, and relied on the party’s dues and patronage networks. The legacy of military rule also made politicians wary of personalizing power, so party organs acted as checks.
Since 1999, governors have become the de facto leaders of their state parties because they control state resources, security, appointments, and campaign funding. That concentration of money and incumbency gives them decisive leverage in primaries and congresses.
There are trade-offs either way. When chairmen hold more sway, the party gains institutional stability, internal democracy, and a check on executive overreach, but it risks gridlock if the chairman and governor clash. When governors lead, governance and party programs align more smoothly, decisions are faster, and the party has stronger funding and electoral machinery, though it often becomes a personal vehicle that collapses if the governor falls out. Nigeria’s system now favors governor-led parties, and the question for 2027 is whether that delivers stronger governance or weaker parties.
Bagudu Mohammed
bagudumohammed15197@gmail.com
