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APC governors win as Oshiomhole hands off mode of primaries

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APC governors win as Oshiomhole hands off mode of primaries

The governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have emerged victorious over the vexed issue of who decides mode of party primary elections in their states.

This was as the leadership of the party led by Adams Oshiomhole finally succumbed to the position of the governors that they be allowed to decide the mode of primary for the selection of candidates for the 2019 elections.

After a meeting of over three hours between the APC National Chairman and the party’s 22 governors at the Imo State Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja, on Wednesday night, the governors came out triumphant.

Recall that APC had, after its last National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, announced the direct method of primary for choosing its candidates. It had however, noted that states wishing to use the indirect method must agree with stakeholders in the states and write the national secretariat of the party a letter that must be signed by a majority of members of the state executive committee.

APC’s earlier decision followed the disagreement on the mode of the primaries by its members.

While some members of the National Assembly had insisted on the direct mode on the argument that the indirect method was easily manipulated by governors who had control over delegates, the governors on the other hand had maintained that indirect method must be adopted.

Oshiomhole apparently wanted the direct primary, a method his leadership also adopted for the presidential primary.

However, after the Wednesday meeting Oshiomhole said, “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.

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“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.”

 

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