The decision to adopt indirectly was reached after a special stakeholders meeting held at the State Secretariat of the party in Akure, Ondo state capital.
Rising after some four hours which was attended by the state governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, his deputy, Hon. Agboola Ajayi, and other elected and key appointees of the ruling party, the leadership of the party unanimously adopted indirect primaries as the mode of selecting its candidate in all elections.
The party hinged its decision to embrace indirect primaries for the elections on security and non-availability of a comprehensive register for party members in the state, noting that direct primaries would give room to fraud, with non-members claiming to be the member of the APC.
Speaking with journalists after the meeting, the lawmaker representing Ondo Central Senatorial district, Senator Tayo Alasoadura, said the party after much deliberations concluded that “all elections that have to do with House of Assembly, House of Representatives and the Senate, should be conducted as indirect primaries in Ondo state
“We arrived at this because of the difficulties that will be associated with direct primaries. A lot of people had joined our party since the after the registration without any registration card.
“Even those of us who joined at the beginning have just a sheet called membership card and for somebody to be taken as a member of a party, he should have financial contributions on a month to month basis
We, therefore, concluded that if we dare to adopt direct primaries it will lead to chaos, unfairness, because a lot of people who are not member of the party are likely to come and claim to be member of the party and the result that comes out of such election will not be free and fair.
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“We therefore unanimously decided in Ondo state that all primaries elections should be conducted through an indirect system of election.
“This conforms with the constitution of the party as the constitution stipulates two methods which we can elect our representatives and we have chosen indirect primaries in Ondo state”
Also speaking, a former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Taofeek Abdulsaalam described a direct invitation to anarchy and another form of corruption.
Abdulsaalam said “the question we have been asking ourselves is the logistics aspect of the direct primaries and the security aspect.
We have about 203 wards in Ondo state and the election is going to take place the same day and when we look at the security aspect we concluded that it’s going to cause a lot of problems
“Apart from that, we have members who have been in the party for about three or four years and have no membership card.
“This is going to create a lot of problems and we unanimously agreed that the best option for the state is to adopt indirect primaries system for all our elections. “
and then