It was formed in late 1998 during a transition from military to civilian rule by a coalition of associations that received considerable support under the regime of Sani Abacha.
Most of the party's support came from the middle belt region and parts of the north.
As a result, the APP and another party – the Alliance for Democracy (AD) – formed a coalition to contest the upcoming presidential election.
The presidential election, held on 29 February 1999, was won by PDP candidate Olusegun Obasanjo.
[2] Thereafter, the APP suffered a factional split and contested the next round of elections in 2003 as the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP).