Tony Osauzo, Benin
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Edo State, Hon. Charles Idahosa, has canvassed for the party’s adoption of direct primaries in electing its candidates for the 2019 general elections, saying that the direct primaries option was more democratic.
Besides, he reasoned that the option would generate less rancour and ensure emergence of popular candidates, compared to the delegates option which he said was too expensive and the consensus option which only privileged few will decide.
Idahosa, a former Political Adviser to former governor Adams Oshiomhole made suggestion while speaking to journalists, in Benin-City, on Sunday.
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He, therefore, urged the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the APC scheduled for later this week, to adopt the direct primaries option which had already been suggested by the National Working Committee (NWC) to deepen internal democracy within the party.
“I support direct primaries and I am going to use this opportunity to appeal to the members of NEC to confirm the position of the NWC so that we can all have a collective responsibility in choosing the candidate in respective positions we are going to contest for.
“If we all have a hand in picking the candidate, automatically, we also have to work to return that candidate but when you say consensus though it is in our constitution, it is deceitful.
“It means some privilege few sitting in one room and taking a decision that we have arrived at a consensus.
“So it is an appeal to the NEC for them to do the right thing otherwise it will polarise the party, there will be problem. The one they did the other time is still giving us problem till date.
“The NWC has approved it, the national chairman is in support because that was the first position he took in Osun, followed by the National Leader in Lagos”, Idahosa said, adding that the option had worked in the past.
“In 2007, I contested the governorship ticket with Adams Oshiomhole, it was direct primaries. I lost. It was very clear to me that I lost because Oshiomhole at that time was already a household name and the entire members all work for him because he was a product of direct primaries. You can see that he was popular, he won that election”.
