A chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Buba Galadima has accused the All Progressives Congress, APC, of using huge financial incentives and vehicles to persuade lawmakers to abandon their ambitions and give way to APC candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Galadima made the allegation on Tuesday while speaking during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme.
The NDC chieftain claimed that the alleged payments were being offered to politicians at both the state and federal levels as part of what he described as an effort by the ruling party to strengthen its position ahead of the elections.
According to him, members of state Houses of Assembly who agree to step aside for APC candidates are allegedly being offered N50 million, while members of the House of Representatives are allegedly being promised N200 million and a car.
Galadima further alleged that the arrangement was not limited to party discussions but involved the distribution of money to candidates who had agreed to withdraw from the 2027 race.
“We are only 100 days away from the general elections. Like every politician, except those in power, [we] are watching their backs because, as I speak to you, I don’t think there is any candidate outside the APC who is sure of contesting this election.”
He alleged that some candidates had already surrendered their tickets after receiving the financial incentives.
“Every member of the House of Assembly who agrees to forfeit his ticket for the APC candidate is currently being given N50 million, and members of the House of Representatives will be given N200 million with a car.”
Galadima also claimed that a woman from Zamfara State was coordinating the alleged distribution of the money from a hotel in Abuja.
“There’s a lady from Zamfara State who is sharing the money in a hotel here in Abuja.”
He went further to link the alleged arrangement to the APC national leadership, claiming that the woman recently met with the party’s National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda.
“In fact, she just held a meeting about four days ago with the APC National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, showing some candidates who have forfeited their right to contest the election. They wrote resignation letters and collected the money,” he alleged.
Galadima did not provide evidence during the interview to independently establish the claims about the alleged payments or the identities of the lawmakers he said had withdrawn from the race.
In recent months, the APC has received politicians from opposition parties as preparations for the elections intensify.
In September, former African Democratic Congress, ADC, candidates from some northern states defected to the ruling party after withdrawing from various State House of Assembly contests.
APC National Chairman Yilwatda received the defectors and said they were joining the party to support President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 ambition.
Galadima, however, presented the latest allegations as part of a wider strategy by the ruling party to reduce competition before the general election.
He alleged that President Bola Tinubu and APC governors were uncomfortable with facing strong opposition candidates at the polls.
He claimed that the objective was to ensure that APC candidates faced little or no serious challenge in several constituencies.
The NDC chieftain has been outspoken about the 2027 election and the opposition’s efforts to challenge the APC.
In September, he disclosed that he was part of a group of seven opposition politicians working under the coordination of former Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, with the stated objective of challenging Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
Fayemi subsequently rejected the claim and his media team said there was no truth in Galadima’s assertion.
Galadima has also previously spoken about the NDC’s strategy ahead of the election.
In May, he said the party had zoned its presidential candidature to the South and urged interested aspirants from the region to register with the party before its register was submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
The NDC has since continued to position itself as one of the opposition platforms preparing for the 2027 contest.
The party has attracted prominent politicians, including former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi and former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, whose political movements have contributed to the ongoing realignment ahead of the election.
The preparations have also seen intense activity within the APC itself, with aspirants challenging outcomes of primaries, withdrawing from contests and in some cases supporting other candidates.
In Adamawa State, for instance, several APC aspirants withdrew from the governorship race in May and endorsed Ahmed Galadima Aminu.
One of the aspirants, Diaulhaq Abubakar, pledged N200 million and his campaign structures to support Galadima’s bid.
The withdrawals were publicly presented as decisions taken in the interest of party unity and progress.
Nonetheless, APC and Yilwatda have not, in the material reviewed for this report, publicly responded to Galadima’s latest allegation that money and vehicles are being offered to lawmakers to withdraw from the 2027 elections.
Yilwatda has previously dismissed suggestions that the APC uses incentives to influence political movements.
In February, while discussing the movement of governors into the ruling party, he said no incentives were given to politicians who joined the APC and maintained that such movements were voluntary.