THE lawmaker representing Ondo North Senatorial Districts, Senator Ajayi Boroffice, on Monday, said those opposing direct primaries are enemies of the President Muhammadu Buhari anti corruption crusade, saying “proponents of indirect primaries in Ondo State fall in the minority section within the party.”
Boroffice who stated this in a statement issued and signed by his media aide, Kayode Fakuyi, said direct primary is an anti corruption approach to sanitize the party’s electoral system
According to him, the idea of indirect primary represents the opinion of the minority in Ondo state, noting that majority of the party leaders in the state are firmly behind the resolution of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of APC to conduct all its primary through direct system.
Boroffice said “the opinion of the minority cannot alter the resolution of NEC. To say Ondo APC has adopted the opinion of the minority is incorrect. The opinion of the minority is not the opinion of Ondo APC. Thus, in Ondo APC, the majority will have their way while the minority will have their say.”
He faulted the fear of the opposition of direct primaries in the state over the direct system of primaries which according to him, included non-availability of comprehensive membership register of APC, security concern and the incapacity of Ondo State Government to fund direct primaries.
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He said “on the issue of availability of comprehensive membership register of APC, it is surprising that some supposed party leaders lack basic information about the party.
“Nevertheless, whether they are genuinely ignorant or deliberately mischievous, the fact is that the database of all registered members of APC in Nigeria is in custody of the National Secretariat of APC.
“For new members of APC, provisions have been made for them to register as party members through the ongoing membership registration exercise across states in the country.”
On security, the lawmaker said “it is a matter of public record that the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) has scheduled 1st of December,2018 for elections in the 18 LGAs of Ondo State. Before fixing the date, ODIEC had considered security concerns. Ondo State is peaceful and neither a violent state nor a volatile state.
“Thus, it is unpatriotic for anyone to present Ondo State as unsafe to the world and investors in particular because of personal and political interests. Evidently, Ondo State is safe for the conduct of hitch-free direct primaries.
On the incapacitation of Ondo State Government to fund direct primaries, Boroffice said, “this line of thought is strange. It is not the responsibility of Ondo State Government to fund the direct primaries of the APC.
“The general public is invited to note that the APC, as a responsible party, has concluded arrangements as regards the funding of direct primaries. The funding of party primaries is the responsibility of the APC and the APC has taken charge of its responsibility.”
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