The All Progressives Congress
(APC) says it never adopted indirect primary for all elective positions but for
the presidential election.
Simon Lalong, governor of Plateau
state, had told journalists that the decision to adopt indirect primary was
reached during the party’s national executive committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja.
Indirect primary election is when
delegates choose the party’s candidate while direct primary is a process where
interested members of the party vote for a candidate.
Lalong had said: “The
constitution of the party provides for either direct, indirect or consensus but
for the presidential election we all agreed that we will adopt direct primaries
for the presidential election.”
But Yekini Nabena, acting
spokesman of the party, told journalists on Friday that on the contrary, the
party NEC resolved to use direct primary in all cases.
He added that states who prefer
indirect primaries would be allowed to take a decision on it.
Nabena said: “The 30th August
2018 resolution of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Executive
Committee (NEC) on the mode of primary election has been subject to inference
and misleading interpretations.
“As an update to the earlier
released statement, we wish to make the following clarifications on NEC’s
resolutions on mode of primary election: “Primary elections into all elective
offices shall be by direct primaries.
“NEC resolved to adopt direct
primaries for the nomination of the presidential candidate and all other
primaries.
“The party’s constitution though
provides for indirect election and consensus, however, the use of indirect
primaries is conditional and dependent on logistic impediments, peculiarities
and need of a given state that makes it unable to use direct primaries.”
He said for states that want to
go for indirect primaries, the state executive committee (SEC) of the party
shall in consultation with aspirants and other critical stakeholders seek the
national working committee’s (NWC) approval to adopt it.
“The adopted mode shall now be
applied to all categories of the party’s primary elections i.e. state assembly,
senate, house of representatives and for the governorship elections,” he said.
“Direct primaries will, among
others, ensure fairness, create a level playing ground for contestants,
eliminate corrupt tendencies usually associated with the delegates system and
ultimately ensure full participation of party members at all levels.”
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