The crisis did not begin on election day. It began long before the first ballot was cast. Across parts of Kogi State, whispers of “prepared lists” and predetermined candidates moved through party circles like dry-season fire. By the time the primaries arrived, many party faithful believed the outcome had already been written behind closed doors.
Within the ruling All Progressives Congress, frustration is no longer hidden. Aspirants who spent months consulting delegates and building grassroots structures suddenly found themselves confronting a different reality: politics controlled not by persuasion, but by imposition. The language of internal democracy was preserved in speeches, yet many members insist the substance had disappeared.
What emerged in several senatorial districts resembled a modern political colony. Local voices appeared secondary to distant power brokers. Delegates complained quietly. Supporters grumbled openly. In tea stalls, party offices, and community gatherings, one question echoed repeatedly: if candidates are selected elsewhere, what then is the purpose of a primary election?
The danger of imposed politics is larger than one party. Democracy weakens when participation becomes ceremonial. Citizens lose trust when political contests appear scripted before they begin. Young voters, already disillusioned by unemployment and economic strain, watch these disputes and conclude that loyalty matters more than competence. Such perceptions deepen public cynicism and widen the distance between the electorate and the political class.
Yet political history offers a warning. Structures built on exclusion rarely endure peacefully. Parties survive not merely through power, but through legitimacy. If internal democracy continues to shrink beneath the weight of political godfatherism and imported consensus lists, the greatest threat may not come from opposition parties. It may come from the silent anger growing within the party itself.
– Inah Boniface Ocholi writes from Ayah – Igalamela/Odolu LGA, Kogi state.
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