PR SHOTS: The Consensus Conundrum By Ahmed Balarabe Said
I read a related piece by Big Brother Yushau Shuaib, and every Nigerian should feel deeply concerned.
Since its return to civilian rule in 1999, Nigeria’s democratic journey has been repeatedly tested by the practice of “consensus candidacy.” In theory, this approach is meant to promote party unity and ease the friction of contentious primaries. But in reality, it has too often become a tool for elite imposition, chipping away at the very foundations of representative democracy and participatory governance.
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State governors, historically wielding outsized influence within their domains, have been central to this dynamic. Whether it’s for local government seats, nominations into federal appointments or positions in the National Assembly, they’ve routinely handpicked candidates in their expanding usurpation of state capture. The result is a dangerous concentration of power that sidelines both ordinary party members and the electorate at large.
Efforts to correct this through electoral reform have, so far, backfired in unexpected ways. The 2022 and the recent 2026 amendments to the Electoral Act sought to deepen internal party democracy by requiring either direct primaries or a consensus process backed by the written consent of all aspirants.
But rather than open the field, the legislation appears to have intensified the problem. Guided often by gubernatorial preference, parties have manipulated the consensus route, turning it into a cover for opaque backroom deals while sidelining competitive processes altogether. The outcome is the stifling of the will of party members and voters alike.
The surge in internal party conflicts and the expected legal battles along the journey in the months ahead will critically test our democracy. How they strengthen our democracy is left to be seen.
Ahmed Balarabe Said, a strategic Communicator writes from Kaduna
