Consensus Option May Trigger APC Implosion, Fayemi Warns

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…Says Party Has Lost Its Bearing

Former governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, has warned that the growing culture of consen­sus arrangements and imposi­tion of candidates within the ruling All Progressives Congress could trigger an implosion in the party.

Fayemi gave the warning on Thursday while speaking on Edmund Obilo’s State Affairs podcast amid ongoing APC pri­mary elections across the coun­try ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The former governor’s com­ments come at a time when pro­tests have erupted in some states over allegations of candidate im­position and manipulation of the party’s primary process.

Speaking during the inter­view, the former Minister of Mines and Steel Development lamented that the APC had grad­ually drifted away from the ideals and democratic principles upon which it was founded.

According to him, the party has also lost its ideological di­rection and internal culture of debate.

“The party is now the agent of government, not the other way round,” Fayemi said.

While clarifying that he was not opposed to consensus arrange­ments, the former minister insist­ed that such agreements must emerge from genuine consulta­tions and democratic engagement rather than political coercion.

“There is nothing wrong with consensus if it is genuine consensus. I have no objection to it. However, I am a product of a democratic process and I will al­ways be on the side of primaries all the time,” he stated.

“The issue of consensus is also part of the challenges we are dealing with. I agree with you and I am critical of it.”

Fayemi further decried what he described as the absence of in­tellectual engagement and ideo­logical debate within the APC.

“You don’t see intellectualism because there is no debate in our party. There is no debate,” he said.

Recalling an address he deliv­ered at a South-West APC con­ference in Lagos, Fayemi said he had openly warned party leaders that the APC was losing its orig­inal vision.

“I was very explicit that this is not where the party has come from; that we have lost our bear­ing and that we have lost the vi­sion of the founding fathers of this party,” he added.

Speaking on the increasing tendency of party aspirants seeking presidential endorse­ment ahead of primaries, Fayemi warned that the practice could worsen internal discontent with­in the APC.

When the podcast host ob­served that many APC politi­cians now rush to Abuja in the hope of emerging as consensus candidates after meeting Pres­ident Bola Tinubu, Fayemi re­sponded that such a trend could have dangerous consequences for the party.

“It will be unfortunate if ev­erybody is running to Aso Rock because they want to see the president. They may be going for a variety of reasons,” he said.

“But you know the danger of that? Those who don’t get that consensus, what do you think will happen? Do you think they will be happy? So, you are waiting for an implosion then.”