Falana Slams APC Consensus Primaries, Warns of Democratic Collapse
Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of extortion and promoting plutocracy that undermines democracy.
He spoke on Thursday at the 8th Penpushing Annual Lecture held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, under the theme “Restoring Electoral Integrity: The Path to Good Governance and Public Accountability.”
Falana stressed that electoral integrity cannot exist without transparent party primaries, insisting that any discussion of electoral integrity must begin with the primaries themselves.
He argued that consensus arrangements deny party members the right to freely choose their candidates, even though the Electoral Act permits both direct and consensus methods.
The SAN also raised alarm over growing threats to Nigeria’s multi‑party system, warning that deregistering political parties and blocking others from elections could trigger a political crisis.
“Political exclusion has historically encouraged undemocratic forces to undermine democratic institutions across Africa,” Falana said.
He further condemned the monetisation of politics, citing EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede’s allegation that some governorship aspirants spent between ₦20 billion and ₦30 billion during primaries.
Falana asked, “If you are spending between ₦20 billion and ₦30 billion on a primary election, how much are you going to spend in the real election?” He suggested such sums could not come from legitimate sources and that the practice fuels corruption and weakens democracy.
He called for urgent reforms to strengthen internal party democracy, curb the commercialisation of politics, and preserve the integrity of Nigeria’s democratic process.
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