Abstract

Despite the significant role that political elites play in the candidate selection process within political parties, there is a lack of comprehensive understanding of how these elites influence the selection of candidates within the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. This however raises questions about the transparency, fairness, and representativeness of the candidate selection process. However, this paper explores political elites and party candidate selection in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic: A study of APC. The paper adopted descriptive research method and engage elite theory as its theoretical premise. The paper found out that political elites in APC have a significant influence on the process of selecting party candidates, potentially shaping the outcomes of elections. It also revealed the specific factors and criteria considered by political elites in APC when choosing party candidates, such as loyalty, political connections, or financial resources. The paper concluded that the involvement of political elites in the process of selecting candidate significantly shapes the outcomes of election and raises questions about fairness and meritocracy within All Progressive Congress. Therefore, the paper recommended that All Progressive Congress should enhance transparency by publicly disclosing the criteria used for candidate selection and making the process more accessible to party members and public. It also recommended that APC should emphasize the importance of meritocracy in candidate selection rather than solely relying on political connections or financial resources.

Keywords: All Progressive Congress, candidate selection, Fourth Republic, Nigeria, political elite