On direct primaries we stand ― Shehu Sanni, other Kaduna aspirants

 

ASPIRANTS and stakeholders of the Kaduna State Chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC, on Tuesday petitioned the party’s National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiohmole insisting on direct primaries for choosing the party’s flagbearers.

 

The Senator representing Kaduna Central, Senator Shehu Sani who led some of the aspirants on the platform of the party to submit the petition said that, it was their “collective decision to adopt direct primaries as the preferred mode of nominating candidates at primary elections into all elective positions in the state.”

They, however, argued that “direct primary is the most assured means of throwing up the most popular candidates that will deliver Kaduna State for the APC come 2019.”

In the petition, they maintained that, “the delegate system, otherwise called Indirect Primaries will rely on the whims and caprices of the few that now control the party after emerging from ward, local government and state congresses that have been widely rejected by party members as a sham.

“Hundreds of party members who bought forms with a view to vying for various wards, local governments and state party executive positions were deliberately excluded from the process and in some Instances even intentionally blocked from submitting their forms. Nor were they even consulted ahead of the so-called processes of affirmation of officials of the party,” he stated.

The petition read in part: “observers of the politics of Kaduna State know, there have, over the past three or so years, been a significant amount of disquiet in the camp of the APC. A disturbing level at apathy and anomie now pervades the party as a result of the profound sense of marginalisation and, in some cases, outright exclusion which is experienced by many critical stakeholders as well as members of the party.

“Instead the names of all party executives were single-handedly written by the Governor. That alienated many of our party members and caused mass exodus from the party. These selected party executives under the tyrannical hold of the Governor have been complying only with his (the Governor’s) biddings, limiting access, communication and association to only those candidates in the favoured book of the Governor.

“A great many of members of the party executives have been appointed to serve as campaign coordinators of Governor’s preferred candidates at various levels while those deemed to be sympathetic to the cause of the people other than the Governor have been shown the way out preferred candidates at various levels while those deemed to be sympathetic to the cause of the people other than the Governor have been shown the way out.

“Majority of the members of our party, armed with facts that are stark and incontrovertible, are now in court seeking judgements that would, from all indications, set aside these sham congresses. And since it is a trite legal dictum that you cannot build something on an illegality, it means that for Kaduna State at least, the indirect Primaries system relying as it would on these bogus congresses is Dead on Arrival, DoA.

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“The proponents of Indirect Primaries in the state, particularly the Governor and his cohort, rely on the excuse that the current security situation in the state makes direct primaries impracticable and risky.

“This argument is not nearly as clever as it should be considering that it outrightly contradicts claims by the same Governor that Kaduna State has been made secured, besides, the argument flies in the face of logic because if security challenges are sufficient ground not to adopt and conduct Direct Primaries, then it follows that the 2019 general election ought not to hold at all.

“If anything, therefore, we use this opportunity to forewarn of the possibility that violence may be fomented by the governor and his hatchet men to undermine the conduct of free, fair credible direct primaries in the state.

“We the undersigned are particularly in opposition to Indirect Primaries because of the weakening effects of its corruptive tendencies. The entire process begins and ends with vote buying. And, as it is always the case where the will of the general electorates are subverted, the best candidates fat the tasks at hand never get recruited. It is our humble opinion that the forthcoming 2019 general election is too crucial for the APC, and Kaduna State is strategic for us to confront the array of neat formidable candidates of the opposition with anything less than our very best candidates.

“Indirect Primaries stand as direct antithesis to the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari to fight corruption at all levels. Our party having touted the change mantra must shine the light into those dark places in our electoral system where the corruptive influence of ill-gotten wealth is used to subvert the will at the electorate and perpetuate the vicious circle of corruption, bad governance and weak and dysfunctional institutions and processes,” the petition read.