A fresh rebellion is brewing within the ruling APC as stakeholders from Patani/Bomadi Federal Constituency in Delta State stormed the National Secretariat of the Party in Abuja to oppose moves to return Nigeria’s longest-serving Lawmaker in the House of Representatives, Hon. Nicholas Mutu, for an unprecedented eighth term.
MJConcept TV News reports that the protesters alleged a plot to manipulate the APC primary process ahead of the 2027 General Elections in a bid to extend his stay in the National Assembly to 28 years.
Mutu, a former Chairman of the House Committee on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), has represented the Constituency continuously since 1999 and is now seeking another re-election bid that would further cement his place as the longest-serving Federal Lawmakers in Nigeria’s democratic history. Mutu shares his record as longest-serving Lawmaker with Senator Ahmad Lawan both of whom started in the House of Representatives in 1999 before Lawan stepped up to the Senate in 2007.
The angry stakeholders, who carried placards and chanted anti-imposition slogans, warned the APC leadership against what they described as an attempt to force Mutu on the Constituency for another four years despite growing discontent among Party members.
Addressing journalists during the protest, APC chieftain and community leader, Mayor Timinepere Ogobiri, appealed directly to President Bola Tinubu and the National leadership of the Party to intervene and stop what he called “injustice” against the people of the Constituency.
According to him, residents of Patani/Bomadi had endured what he termed “abysmal representation” for nearly three decades and were no longer willing to accept another Mutu candidacy.
“We are here to appeal to the national leadership of the APC to please do justice to the abysmal representation of Patani/Bomadi Federal Constituency for 28 whole years by Hon. Nicholas Mutu,” Ogobiri said.
“It’s enough. We sent him there, and we are saying 28 years is enough. Let another person from Patani Local Government Area represent us.”
The protesters argued that beyond the fact that Mutu is about Nigeria’s longest-serving Lawmaker, there was also the issue of equity and zoning within the Constituency.
Ogobiri maintained that since Mutu hails from Bomadi Local Government Area, fairness demanded that Patani LGA should now produce the next representative.
He further warned that allowing one individual to remain in office for almost three decades contradicted the progressive ideals the APC claims to represent.
“APC is a Progressive Party, and one person holding onto power for 28 years is not progressive. We need change,” he declared.
Another stakeholder, Comrade Chris Anthony, alleged that powerful interests within the political establishment were already working behind the scenes to impose Mutu on the Constituency again despite opposition from grassroots Party members.
“There’s an ugly scenario happening in Patani/Bomadi Federal Constituency where one individual has remained in the House of Representatives since 1999 and is still seeking re-election for the eighth tenure,” Anthony said.
He also claimed that despite Mutu’s lengthy stay in the National Assembly, the Constituency had witnessed little meaningful development, a situation he said had fuelled resentment among younger politicians and Party loyalists seeking a fresh direction.
The protest is expected to deepen ongoing political tensions within the APC in Delta State as the battle for control of Party structures ahead of the 2027 elections intensifies.