Newly formed Adamawa Progressive Elders Council (APEC), an advisory body within the All Progressives Congress (APC), has highlighted plans to unify the party by resolving internal disputes.
The initiative aims to boost the party’s standing ahead of the 2027 general elections and avoid the kind of seasonal internal discord that harmed the party in 2019 and 2023, according to the council’s spokesman, Ahmed Sajoh.
Sajoh, who served as the commissioner of information under an APC government that lost power in 2019 in a faction blamed on internal strife, said at a press conference in Yola that the establishment of the elders council followed consultations led by senior APC figures at the national level to stabilize the party at the state level.
He explained that the elders’ platform, which draws membership from former governors, former senators, serving and former ministers, veteran party leaders, and respected community elders across the 21 local government areas of the state, would serve as a stabilizing force for the party in Adamawa State.
Providing context for the initiative, Sajoh recalled the APC’s experiences in the 2019 and 2023 election cycles, describing them as periods of internal disarray when the party lost the governorship election in both instances due almost entirely to intraparty disharmony.
According to him, the absence of a strong conflict-resolution mechanism led to fragmentation after primary elections in those years, ultimately costing the party the governorship and other strategic positions.
“We broke away and fought ourselves,” he lamented, adding that party elders are determined to prevent a repetition of such setbacks in 2027.
Sajoh declared that the council has adopted a 12-point resolution, including commitments to produce credible candidates through transparent processes, guarantee free and fair congresses, and promptly resolve disputes arising from primaries.
“The council also pledged to build effective grassroots campaign structures capable of strengthening the party’s electoral outreach,” Sajoh said.