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Real reason govs oppose direct primaries —APC Senators

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Real reason govs oppose direct primaries —APC Senators

The fear of masses judgement has been identified as the reasons All Progresives Congress (APC) governors are kicking against using direct primaries to pick candidates of the party for the 2019 general elections.

This was disclosed by Senators Shehu Sani of Kaduna State and Kabir Marafa from Zamfara State.

According to the senators, the governors, especially of Kaduna and Zamfara states are afraid that the masses, who are members of the party, will exercise judgement on them before the general elections.

Shehu is hoping to return to the Senate while Marafa is eyeing the governorship of Zamfara.

It would be recalled that most state chapters of the APC have kicked against the direct primaries proposed by the national leadership of the party, giving various reasons why they cannot adopt the method for choosing candidates.

This has pitched the governors, who are believed to be the unseen hands behind the adoption of indirect primaries by the state working committees of the party against members of the National Assembly, who favoured the direct primaries option.

Sani, whi has been in a thug of war against Kaduna State governor, Nasir Elrufia, spoke on Saturday after picking his Expression of Interest and Nomination forms in Abuja.

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He said: “If you belong to the APC and not the PDP that they condemned and criticized over the years and you still subscribe to the dirty politics of endorsement, exclusion and threats, such kind of person is in the wrong place. APC came into existence as a result of the vices, negatives and the destruction that had attended our political experience.

“Direct primaries is not simply about logistics. It is about honour and integrity as well as changing the political order of the country. Those who subscribe to direct primaries have offered themselves for trial and judgment by the people who elected them into offices and they are saying that there is honour, principle and ideal in politics.

“As far as we are concerned, we stand for direct primaries. The state chapter has submitted its application for indirect primaries and we the stakeholders and aspirants have submitted our application for direct primaries. It is left for the national leadership of the party to decide.

Also speaking on the subject, Senator Marafa said he was not bothered by the purported decision of his state governor, Abdul’aziz Yari, to embark on indirect elections for the forthcoming governorship primaries in the state.

He however insisted that his group would conduct its own direct primaries and then wait for the courts to decide who the authentic flagbearer of the party would be.

“Let me first of all say this, I don’t think there is any doubt, I have once said it after the conclusion of the congresses that time, I made a very clear call that I see the activities of fifth columnists in the APC that know they cannot defeat President in the general election. So, the common fear is the fear of second term of President Muhammadu Buhari. Then, if you cannot beat directly, how do you beat him indirectly? So, that was why the congresses were done, deliberately in such a way that they cannot withstand legal scrutiny.

“In more than 21 states, there were parallel congresses and like I said that time, I don’t need to be a lawyer, I don’t need to be a retired judge to know that what held in most of the states was nothing but rubbish.

“The guidelines said that the party constitution provides for consensus, but in the absence of consensus, there should be election. In most of these states, people made payments into APC account, obtained their tellers but the governors feel they were demi-gods that feel they must be worshiped, and that they are the ones that can determine the attitude of every human being in Nigeria and we said that look, you cannot do that. There are some of us that are radically inclined, you can’t threaten us, that is exactly what happened. Now, glory be to God, under the present leadership of the APC today, they swore that these people don’t mean well for this party, so, let us insulate ourselves and our president, that is why the APC said, Presidential election is by direct primaries.

“If APC says go for indirect, I will do my direct with my own set of executives, they will do their indirect with their own set of executives. So, when the time comes for the courts to rule, if they say Marafa is right, it means they are going home and would retire from politics”.

 

 

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