Falana Condemns APC Consensus Primaries, Warns Against ‘Plutocracy’ in Nigerian Politics

Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has criticised the All Progressives Congress (APC) over its use of consensus governorship primaries, describing the process as “extortion” and “plutocracy” that undermines democratic principles.

Falana made the remarks on Thursday while delivering a lecture at the 8th Penpushing Annual Lecture held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta. The event was themed, “Restoring Electoral Integrity: The Path to Good Governance and Public Accountability.”

He argued that genuine electoral integrity cannot be achieved unless political parties first ensure credible and transparent primary elections.

“Please, let us stop deceiving ourselves. If you are going to talk about electoral integrity, you must start with the primaries,” Falana said.

The senior lawyer maintained that consensus arrangements deprive party members of the opportunity to freely elect their preferred candidates, despite provisions in the Electoral Act permitting both direct and consensus methods of candidate selection.

Falana also expressed concern over what he described as increasing threats to Nigeria’s multi-party democracy, warning that attempts to deregister political parties or prevent them from participating in elections could destabilise the country’s democratic system.

According to him, political exclusion has historically encouraged anti-democratic forces to weaken democratic institutions across Africa.

The SAN further condemned the growing commercialisation of politics, citing recent allegations by the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, that some governorship aspirants spent between ₦20 billion and ₦30 billion during party primaries.

Questioning the source of such enormous campaign spending, Falana argued that the funds could hardly have been legitimately acquired.

“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 asked.

He warned that excessive spending in politics encourages corruption, weakens democratic institutions and compromises public accountability.

Falana called for urgent reforms aimed at strengthening internal party democracy, curbing the monetisation of elections and safeguarding the credibility of Nigeria’s democratic process, insisting that transparent party primaries remain essential to restoring public confidence in elections.