---
title: "APC (All Progressives Congress) — AP Comp Gov Definition"
description: "The APC is one of Nigeria's two dominant parties in a multiparty system. Its 2015 win over the PDP marked Nigeria's first peaceful transfer of power between parties."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-comp-gov/key-terms/apc"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP Comparative Government"
unit: "Unit 4"
---

# APC (All Progressives Congress) — AP Comp Gov Definition

## Definition

The All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of the two major parties that dominate Nigeria's multiparty system, formed in 2013 by merging opposition parties to challenge the PDP. Its 2015 presidential victory produced Nigeria's first peaceful transfer of power from a ruling party to the opposition.

## What It Is

The All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of [Nigeria](/ap-comp-gov/review-by-country/nigeria/study-guide/4uuIc1WGkOGZPbz5 "fv-autolink")'s two big parties, alongside the People's Democratic Party (PDP). Here's the twist that trips people up. Nigeria is officially a **[multiparty system](/ap-comp-gov/key-terms/multiparty-system "fv-autolink")** with dozens of registered parties (around 30 at recent counts), but in practice only the APC and PDP regularly win national elections and govern. So Nigeria looks multiparty on paper and behaves more like a two-party system in reality.

The APC formed in 2013 when several opposition parties merged specifically to take down the long-ruling PDP. It worked. In 2015, APC candidate Muhammadu Buhari defeated the sitting PDP president, giving Nigeria its first peaceful transfer of power from one party to another since the 1999 return to civilian rule. That single fact does a lot of work in [AP Comp Gov](/ap-comp-gov "fv-autolink"), because it's evidence for democratic consolidation in a country the course otherwise treats as a fragile, hybrid-leaning democracy.

## Why It Matters

The APC lives in **Topic 4.3 (What are Political Party Systems?)** in [Unit 4](/ap-comp-gov/unit-4 "fv-autolink"), supporting learning objective **AP Comp Gov 4.3.A**: describe characteristics of political party systems and party membership. The CED's core point (PAU-4.A.1) is that party systems range from one-party and dominant-party systems to genuine multiparty systems, and Nigeria is your example of a multiparty system where competition is real but concentrated in two parties. That makes the APC your go-to contrast case. China bans competition outright, [Russia](/ap-comp-gov/key-terms/russia "fv-autolink") engineers dominance through registration rules and selective courts, and Nigeria actually lets the opposition win. Knowing the APC means you can place Nigeria correctly on that spectrum and explain *why* it sits there.

## Connections

### Dominant party systems (Unit 4)

The APC is the counterexample that defines the category. In Russia, [United Russia](/ap-comp-gov/key-terms/united-russia "fv-autolink") stays on top because the rules are rigged in its favor. In Nigeria, the PDP looked dominant for 16 years, then the APC beat it in a real election. If the opposition can actually win, you're not in a dominant-party system.

### [Communist Party of China (Unit 4)](/ap-comp-gov/key-terms/communist-party-of-china)

[China](/ap-comp-gov/review-by-country/china/study-guide/K0v3iydFqTXwWWKj "fv-autolink") sits at the far end of the same spectrum. The CPC is the only party allowed to govern, with eight minor parties kept around for consultation, not competition. Comparing the CPC's legal monopoly to APC-vs-PDP competition is exactly the kind of party-system contrast SAQs ask for.

### [Hybrid Regime (Unit 1)](/ap-comp-gov/key-terms/hybrid-regime)

Nigeria's [regime](/ap-comp-gov/key-terms/regime "fv-autolink") classification leans on party politics. Competitive APC-PDP elections, including the 2015 alternation in power, are evidence on the democratic side of the ledger, even while corruption and election violence pull the other way. The APC's electoral wins are data points in any regime-type argument about Nigeria.

### [Accountability (Unit 2)](/ap-comp-gov/key-terms/accountability)

Two parties that can each realistically lose creates vertical accountability. Nigerian voters punished the PDP in 2015 by electing the APC, which is the clearest accountability mechanism Nigeria has. One-party states can't offer that exit option.

## On the AP Exam

The APC shows up in multiple-choice questions about Nigeria's party system, usually testing whether you understand the paper-versus-practice gap. Stems ask things like why the PDP and APC dominate despite 30 registered parties, or what role the two parties play in Nigeria's political system. On the free-response side, party systems are a recurring SAQ comparison. The 2022 SAQ Q3 asked you to compare political party systems in two course countries, and Nigeria paired with China or Russia is a classic answer where the APC is your evidence. The move the exam rewards is precise classification. Don't just say 'Nigeria has lots of parties.' Say it's a multiparty system where two parties (APC and PDP) dominate national competition, and back it with the 2015 transfer of power.

## APC vs PDP (People's Democratic Party)

Both are Nigerian major parties, and on the exam you mostly need them as a pair, not individually. The PDP governed from 1999 to 2015 and looked like a dominant party. The APC is the opposition coalition that formed in 2013 and won in 2015, proving the PDP's dominance wasn't locked in by rules the way United Russia's is. Quick memory hook: PDP came first, APC beat it.

## Key Takeaways

- The APC (All Progressives Congress) is one of Nigeria's two major parties, alongside the PDP, in a system with roughly 30 registered parties.
- Nigeria is classified as a multiparty system, but in practice the APC and PDP dominate national elections, so it behaves like two-party competition.
- The APC formed in 2013 as a merger of opposition parties, and its 2015 victory was Nigeria's first peaceful transfer of power between parties since 1999.
- The APC supports AP Comp Gov 4.3.A by showing the competitive end of the party-system spectrum, in contrast to China's one-party rule and Russia's engineered one-party dominance.
- On SAQs comparing party systems, citing the 2015 APC win over the PDP is strong, specific evidence of genuine electoral competition in Nigeria.

## FAQs

### What is the APC in AP Comp Gov?

The APC (All Progressives Congress) is one of Nigeria's two major political parties. It formed in 2013 from a merger of opposition parties and won the presidency in 2015, ending 16 years of PDP rule.

### Is Nigeria a two-party system because of the APC and PDP?

No, not technically. Nigeria is a multiparty system with around 30 registered parties, but only the APC and PDP regularly win and govern at the national level. The exam expects you to call it a multiparty system with two dominant parties.

### What's the difference between the APC and the PDP?

The PDP governed Nigeria from the 1999 transition to civilian rule until 2015. The APC is the opposition coalition that formed in 2013 and defeated the PDP in 2015 with Muhammadu Buhari, producing Nigeria's first peaceful inter-party transfer of power.

### Why was the APC's 2015 win such a big deal?

It was the first time in Nigeria's history that an opposition party peacefully took power from a sitting ruling party through elections. That's strong evidence of democratic competition, which matters when you argue about Nigeria's regime type.

### How is the APC different from United Russia or the Communist Party of China?

The CPC holds a legal monopoly on power, and United Russia maintains dominance through registration rules and selective courts. The APC competes in genuinely contestable elections and can lose, which is what separates Nigeria's party system from China's and Russia's on the exam.

## Related Study Guides

- [4.3 What are Political Party Systems?](/ap-comp-gov/unit-4/political-party-systems/study-guide/HNDifxoeF5hglhPzck7v)

## Structured Data

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"LearningResource","@id":"https://fiveable.me/ap-comp-gov/key-terms/apc#resource","name":"APC (All Progressives Congress) — AP Comp Gov Definition","url":"https://fiveable.me/ap-comp-gov/key-terms/apc","learningResourceType":"Concept explainer","educationalLevel":"AP® / High School","about":{"@id":"https://fiveable.me/ap-comp-gov/key-terms/apc#term"},"audience":{"@type":"EducationalAudience","educationalRole":"student"},"dateModified":"2026-06-11T05:53:11.464Z","isPartOf":{"@type":"Collection","name":"AP Comparative Government Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/ap-comp-gov/key-terms"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Fiveable","url":"https://fiveable.me"}},{"@type":"DefinedTerm","@id":"https://fiveable.me/ap-comp-gov/key-terms/apc#term","name":"APC","description":"The All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of the two major parties that dominate Nigeria's multiparty system, formed in 2013 by merging opposition parties to challenge the PDP. Its 2015 presidential victory produced Nigeria's first peaceful transfer of power from a ruling party to the opposition.","url":"https://fiveable.me/ap-comp-gov/key-terms/apc","inDefinedTermSet":{"@type":"DefinedTermSet","name":"AP Comparative Government Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/ap-comp-gov/key-terms"}},{"@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is the APC in AP Comp Gov?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The APC (All Progressives Congress) is one of Nigeria's two major political parties. It formed in 2013 from a merger of opposition parties and won the presidency in 2015, ending 16 years of PDP rule."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Is Nigeria a two-party system because of the APC and PDP?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"No, not technically. Nigeria is a multiparty system with around 30 registered parties, but only the APC and PDP regularly win and govern at the national level. The exam expects you to call it a multiparty system with two dominant parties."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What's the difference between the APC and the PDP?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The PDP governed Nigeria from the 1999 transition to civilian rule until 2015. The APC is the opposition coalition that formed in 2013 and defeated the PDP in 2015 with Muhammadu Buhari, producing Nigeria's first peaceful inter-party transfer of power."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Why was the APC's 2015 win such a big deal?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"It was the first time in Nigeria's history that an opposition party peacefully took power from a sitting ruling party through elections. That's strong evidence of democratic competition, which matters when you argue about Nigeria's regime type."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How is the APC different from United Russia or the Communist Party of China?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The CPC holds a legal monopoly on power, and United Russia maintains dominance through registration rules and selective courts. The APC competes in genuinely contestable elections and can lose, which is what separates Nigeria's party system from China's and Russia's on the exam."}}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"AP Comparative Government","item":"https://fiveable.me/ap-comp-gov"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Key Terms","item":"https://fiveable.me/ap-comp-gov/key-terms"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Unit 4","item":"https://fiveable.me/ap-comp-gov/unit-4"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"APC"}]}]}
```