Imposition by direct, indirect primary won’t save politicians in 2023 – PGF DG warns

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

The Director General of Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), Salihu Moh Lukman, has warned that the old practice of imposing candidates on party members through direct or indirect primaries by party leaders would not guarantee victory for any politician in 2023 elections.

Lukman, in a statement titled ‘‘Internal Party Democracy and Politics of Candidates’ Nomination’, which was made available to journàlists yesterday, said no APC leader should take for granted the sacrifice by the party over the years to earn the confidence of Nigerians.

“No leader should have the illusion that old methods of imposition of candidates by any means – direct or indirect – can guarantee electoral victory.

“As much as APC members and Nigerians want the internal process of nominating candidates for elections to be broadened to engender wider participation of party members, no political leader should attempt to introduce loose arrangements so that figures can be produced in the name of results for party primary. APC has worked hard in 2015 and 2019 to earn the confidence of Nigerians”, a statement by the PGF DG said.

The APC chieftain observed that making it Constitutionally mandatory for every political party to adopt a direct method of primary election has been made popular because increasingly many political party members and leaders have lost confidence that parties can on their own adopt internal rules that can truly allow for direct primary.

To this end, he said otherwise, the choice of direct primary should ordinarily be decided internally within parties, just as he argued that it is also a matter that should define the ideological orientation of parties.

He claimed that the original Bill, which was subjected to joint public hearing by both the Senate and House of Representatives at the National Assembly did not contain the insertion of Section 87 Sub Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, but there was only the insertion of Section 87(1 and 2).

While linking the conflict over direct or indirect primaries between the Governors of APC and National Assembly members to poor relationship between the executive and legislative arm of Government, Lukman said this is at the centre of high turnover of members of the Federal parliament.

“There is always a constant fight between Governors and members of the National Assembly of almost all states. Poor relationship between Governors and members of the National Assembly from states is partly responsible for high turnover rates of elected Senators and House of Representatives members.

“The turnover rate is estimated to be as high as 80%. Other factors that must be responsible for the high turnover rates would also include personal lifestyles of many elected representatives, which alienate them from their constituents. The relationship between most elected representatives and their constituents is largely transactional, which produce envy and, in many respects, undermined their electoral viability.

“On both the two issues of poor relationship between Governors and elected representatives, on the one hand, and relationship with constituents, how can the adoption of direct primary address the problem of high turnover rates”, he said.

Speaking further on the issue of direct or indirect primaries, he said both the Governors Forum and the National Assembly Forum are equally guilty, even as he enjoined them to appreciate that the challenges facing APC and Nigeria respectively, require unity of purpose especially among political leaders.