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What is currently unfolding within the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 elections is not merely an internal party disagreement. It is a disturbing spectacle of political manipulation, brazen imposition, intimidation, and the shameless erosion of democratic values that ought to define any serious political process.

Across Delta State and beyond, the APC primaries for the State House of Assembly, House of Representatives and Senate have exposed what many Nigerians now describe as a carefully choreographed charade, one in which outcomes appear predetermined, aspirants treated as expendable, and the principles of fairness and justice sacrificed on the altar of raw political power.

Political parties are supposed to be institutions driven by values, guided by rules, and strengthened by internal democracy. At the heart of every credible democratic process are political values, liberty, fairness, equality of opportunity, transparency, justice, and respect for the collective will of members. But what Nigerians have watched in recent days from the APC primaries bears little resemblance to those ideals.

Instead, what has emerged is the ugly face of godfatherism, manipulation, family entitlement, and open electoral absurdity masquerading as party democracy.

The complaints trailing the primaries are too widespread, too consistent, and too damning to be dismissed as the bitterness of sore losers. From Delta North to Delta South, from Oshimili South to Ika South, aggrieved aspirants and political observers have raised serious concerns about a process many believe was compromised from the outset.

One of the loudest public outcries came from Ika North-East, where many questioned the political morality behind the emergence of  daughter of former Governor, as House of Assembly candidate while the former governor himself is reportedly positioned for the Senate.

The questions practically asked themselves: Are Nigerians now expected to believe that within the entire APC in Delta North, only one family possesses the competence, intelligence, and political qualification to occupy both legislative positions simultaneously? Has politics become an inherited family estate where power is transferred from father to daughter while others merely watch from the sidelines?

For over three decades, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa has occupied one strategic political office after another. Yet, rather than allow fresh voices and broader participation within the party, what many now see is an attempt to tighten political control within one family structure. The optics are troubling. The implications are worse.

This is precisely the kind of political culture that destroys public trust, discourages loyal party members, and turns democratic participation into a meaningless ritual.

In Delta South, the withdrawal of APC stalwart Malik Itiako Ikpokpo from the senatorial race spoke volumes. His statement was not the language of a man defeated at the polls; it was the lamentation of an aspirant who appeared convinced that the process itself had been hijacked long before voting began.

After purchasing nomination forms, submitting documents, and passing screening, Ikpokpo openly declared that entrenched interests, manipulations and “sundry power play” made any free and credible contest impossible.

That accusation strikes at the very heart of democratic legitimacy.

If aspirants already believe results are predetermined by invisible forces and internal conspiracies, then what exactly becomes the purpose of the primaries? Why ask people to purchase expensive forms and participate in exercises whose outcomes may have been settled in private political meetings?

The situation in Oshimili South further deepened public suspicion. The disqualification of Barrister Anthony Nsugbe triggered outrage among supporters who insist he complied fully with all screening requirements, including the submission of relevant credentials and certificates.

Their anger was not merely about one aspirant. It was about a pattern. A growing perception that screening exercises have become convenient tools for eliminating unfavoured contenders while clearing pathways for preferred aspirants handpicked by powerful interests.

Then came the scenes from the so-called Option A4 voting system, scenes that spread rapidly across social media and left many Nigerians stunned. What should have been transparent counting exercises instead turned into embarrassing displays of numerical acrobatics. Observers watched in disbelief as party agents allegedly skipped figures, inflated counts, and manipulated tallies in broad daylight to manufacture victory margins for favoured candidates. It was not merely electoral misconduct. It was an insult to human intelligence.

The disturbing part is not only that such actions allegedly occurred, but that some officials still had the audacity to dismiss complaints and mock aggrieved aspirants as “pretenders” who supposedly failed to prepare for the election.

Prepare for what exactly? For a process many now believe was designed to deny fairness from the beginning? No serious democracy survives on arrogance, manipulation and deceit.

The Bible itself warns in Exodus 23:1: “Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness.” Yet, in today’s political climate, there are individuals who appear willing to defend falsehood, justify manipulation, and suppress truth simply to protect political interests and secure temporary victories.

That is the tragedy of a political culture where conscience has been sacrificed for ambition.

In Ika South, complaints about external interference in the selection of candidates have only reinforced the widespread belief that local political autonomy is being crushed by distant power brokers. Communities are openly resisting what they describe as the imposition of candidates by forces disconnected from the grassroots realities of the people.

That resentment is dangerous.

When people begin to feel excluded from choosing their representatives, democracy itself loses meaning. Elections cease to become instruments of representation and instead become weapons of political conquest deployed by elites against ordinary party members.

The APC must understand that internal democracy is not a decorative slogan to be recited during press conferences. It is the moral foundation upon which party credibility rests.

Without fairness, there can be no trust. Without transparency, there can be no legitimacy. Without justice, there can be no unity. And without genuine internal democracy, every primary election becomes nothing more than a scripted performance whose winners emerge not from the ballot, but from manipulation, coercion and elite bargaining.

The growing public outrage over family domination of political offices, candidate imposition, manipulated counting processes and selective disqualifications is not noise. It is a warning signal.

A political party that silences merit, rewards loyalty to godfathers over competence, and treats aspirants with contempt risks destroying its own moral authority before the general elections even begin.

What Nigerians are demanding is simple: fairness, decency, openness and respect for democratic values.

Sadly, what many say they are witnessing in these APC primaries is the exact opposite.