Adams Oshiomhole
The leadership of the All Progressives Congress has acceded to the
insistence of state chapters of the party to decide the mode of primary
for the selection of candidates for the 2019 elections, according to a
report by Punch.
The report revealed that the decision was reached after an over
three hours meeting between the APC National Chairman and the party’s 22
governors at the Imo State Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja, on
Wednesday night.
The party had after its last National Executive Council meeting
announced the direct method of primary for choosing its candidates.
It said States wishing to use the indirect method must agree with
stakeholders in the states and write the National Secretariat. The
letter is expected to be signed by a majority of members of the state
executive committee.
Some stakeholders especially members of the National Assembly had
insisted on the direct mode arguing that the indirect method was easily
manipulated by governors who could manipulate delegates.
Governors, however, insisted on the indirect method after
Oshiomhole had on several occasions announced the party’s preference for
the direct primary. The presidential primary will, however, be by the
direct method.
After Wednesday’s meeting, Oshiomhole told reporters “My task
and the task of the party is clear. We have a tradition as a progressive
party to submit ourselves to the dictates of our party and we believe
in internal democracy because we are democrats and democracy must begin
from within the house before we can do it outside.
“Our task is very simple, obey the rules of the party, obey the
rules of fairness, obey the rules of natural justice and that is what
we mean when we talk about free and fair primaries.
“Number two, we have spoken on this before, it is not a new decision that our constitution consciously provided for flexibility.
“First to reflect the diversity of our great country and also
to try to give expression to the entire essence of federalism which
allows different states to look at their own situation and advice the
NWC as to what works better for them provided that in all cases the
process is democratic, the rules are fair, the officiating officials are
impartial.”