•It’s not your business –APC tells PDP
With the wave of violent reactions and discordant tunes which greeted the adoption of direct primaries in the selection of its candidates, the All Progressives Congress (APC), seems to have embarked on self-destruction, the opposition People’s Democratic Party has said.
The National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, has announced the liberalization of its primaries with the direct primary system for presidential primaries and Senate. This places the election of party candidate on the shoulders of all registered party members.
The party’s constitution, in line with the Electoral Act, provides for three modes of selecting a candidate. A candidate can be selected except councillor, through Direct Primaries, Indirect primaries or consensus. The constitution also states that the National Working Committee of the party could suggest any of the three, with approval of the National Executive Committee of the party. The party premised its current action on the assumption that indirect primaries is not only fraught with manipulation and corruption of the delegate system, but excludes party members in all parts of the country from the process.
But the resolve of some states to embark on indirect primaries, which favours the governors who are the protagonists of the method, have caused no little upheaval in the party, since it gives the governors who have scores of aides as delegates, the upper hand in the primaries. The states which prefer indirect primaries include Adamawa, Borno, Nasarawa, Bauchi, Kogi and Kaduna and many states in the North-East have chosen indirect primaries, citing various reasons.
In Borno, the theatre of the current terrorist attacks, security reasons was cited as major consideration because bringing millions of party members together could attract terrorist attacks. Besides, it said that the method will disenfranchise physically challenged party members. The fallout of the system is also causing ripples in Ondo State as a former Deputy Governor, Ali Olanusi, Senators Ajayi Boroface and Tayo Alasoadura distanced himself from the Wednesday’s decision of the state chapter to adopt indirect method.
The former deputy governor also said that he was taken aback by the decision of the Governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, as well as other party leaders as regards the adoption of indirect primary, which he said, negates the path the national body had decided upon. Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), has advised the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to yield to the demands of state governors of the party to conduct indirect primaries.
“If they don’t listen to the governors’ demands, the consequences are that the party may lose power.” But the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), has said the adoption of direct and indirect primaries for different types of elections by the same party amounts to double standards which indicates that the party is either dishonest or confused. National Vice Chairman of PDP, Dr. Eddy Olafeso, said the action of the APC, has put the ruling party on the path of self-destruction.
“The adoption of different modules for their primaries not only amounts to double standards, but it is dubious and an indication that the party is dishonest, and its leadership lacks vision, intellectual dept. Leadership is visionary and very infectious down the line, but you don’t have it in the APC,” he said.
Also speaking on it R-APC Spokesman, Kazeem Afegbua, said the development confirmed his position that “the APC is a party that lives in self denial. It does not practice what it preaches. It is a party peopled by desperate politicians who are trying to defend and sustain their estates.
“You gave the president direct primary and recommend indirect primaries for others. Who does that? How can you prescribe two remedies for same category of persons? Why would you prescribe direct primary for President and indirect for others? That’s the double standard of the APC and the more crises they get into, the better for Nigerians.
Another four years of APC under this poor leadership would spell doom for Nigeria. We need competent leadership that can address the precarious situation we find ourselves in. On Professor Sagay’s position that the action is dangerous for the APC, Afegbua said: “It is actually the wish of genuine and majority of Nigerians: that President Buhari should be voted out in 2019 to end this regime of pretension and hypocrisy that have become the second nature of this administration.
“This level of starvation, deprivation, hunger and poverty cannot be condoned by Nigeria for another four years. It will be another four years of anguish and extreme poverty. There are too many contradictions in this government. It is full of too much of political witch-hunt everywhere and impunity.
“Poor and incompetent leadership promoted by nepotism, cronyism and bigotry cannot yield any positive national discourse that would place Nigeria on the altar of development. It is the prayer of most Nigerians for president Buhari not to return. He’s old and tired. He should simply retire.”
Speaking on the issue, the Acting National Publicity Secretary of the party, Yekini Nabena, said the resolution of the party was that all primaries would be direct and any state wishing to adopt the indirect primaries or consensus would write to the NWC for approval. Nabena said, “NEC resolved to adopt direct primaries for the nomination of the presidential candidate and all other candidates.
“The party’s constitution though provides for Indirect Election and Consensus, however, the use of Indirect Primaries is conditional and dependent on logistic impediments; peculiarities and need of a given State that makes it unable to use Direct Primaries.”
Unfortunately, the position of NWC has been a source of controversies in the party, pitching the governors against the NWC and other stakeholders. Reacting to PDP’s claims that the action will lead to implosion in the party, Nabena said it is not the oppsition’s business, rather it should first organise its on primaries and let the nation see the fallout. According to him, if anything, with its array of presidential aspirants, the PDP faces greater risk of implosion than the APC.
.new telegraph
